Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues
by The Dragon Legend
Summary: Sequel to Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story. It's back to the galaxy, but a lot has changed since Shadow left...
1. Fuck That Guy!

**The long-awaited sequel is finally here! If you haven't read the first story, why are you here? If you have read it, I hope you enjoy this one just as much.**

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

"…And then I came here."

Shadow, Rouge, and Omega, the members of Team Dark, were currently in a graveyard. Rouge and Omega had been visiting Shadow's grave after they thought that he had died in an explosion. But then a very much alive Shadow had showed up to tell them the true story of his disappearance. The story had taken a while to tell, so Shadow and Rouge sat on a bench while Omega stood nearby.

"I wish I could have seen it." Said Omega, referring to the Death Star, a planet destroying superweapon.

"Eggman helped build that thing you know." Shadow reminded him.

"Of course, it needed to be destroyed."

"Well," started Rouge, trying to process everything she had been told. "That's quite the story. You're positive this Sidious guy is dead, right?"

Shadow nodded. "After I made sure Anakin was safe, I went back out there and found his body. I ripped him to pieces."

Rouge smiled approvingly. "Good. Fuck that guy." She glanced at the rapidly darkening sky. "Wow, it got late. You want to head home, don't you?"

Shadow got up to leave and stumbled when a sick, cold feeling suddenly swept through him.

Omega reached out a hand to steady him and Rouge stood up to put a hand on his shoulder. "Shadow, are you alright? You're shaking."

Shadow considered what to tell them. They wouldn't believe that it was nothing, but he also didn't want to worry them too much. They'd had more than enough of that already.

"I think I'm over-exhausted. Traveling between galaxies takes a lot of energy."

Rouge studied him closely. "Are you going to make it home okay? We can take you."

"You don't have to do that. I'll be fine."

"You are certain?" Omega asked, also scrutinizing him.

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Guys, I'm not going to disappear again."

Rouge took her hand back. "Alright, but call me tomorrow, okay? Or earlier, if you need anything."

Shadow nodded.

"I mean it. You don't have to handle everything by yourself."

"Alright, I promise I'll reach out to you if something happens. Happy now?"

Rouge nodded in satisfaction. Shadow took promises very seriously. If something happened, he would call.

* * *

Shadow got home and immediately flopped onto the couch, not caring that it had accumulated a layer of dust in his absence. He felt awful, almost enough to regret not taking Rouge's offer. Almost.

His head pounded while the rest of him seemed to be going numb. His limbs shook uncontrollably, and the room seemed to spin.

Moaning, Shadow curled into a ball and hoped sleep would come soon.

* * *

Eggman studied his cell, looking for a weakness. He knew he had a limited amount of time before he would be sentenced and executed, most likely by Omega. Eggman had a secret communication device hidden in one of his gloves, but unfortunately it was designed to signal robots that he had built back in that other dimension and he didn't have any tools to make the adjustments.

While trying to determine if he could turn his toothbrush into a screwdriver, he heard yelling. Eggman put his ear up against the wall of the cell and tried to listen. The sound was muffled but it sounded like one of the guards yelling that no one was allowed to see him.

The yelling stopped after a couple loud bangs.

There was silence for a moment, then his cell door slid open. Thinking that his robots actually came to save him, Eggman rushed for the exit.

But once outside, he stopped in his tracks.

Standing outside, waiting for him, was Shadow the hedgehog, holding the Darksaber.

"Uhhh…. Hey, Shadow! What brings you here?"

Shadow grabbed Eggman. "You're coming with me." With that, he turned and walked out, pulling Eggman along by his wrist.

Panic ignited. "Hold on! I'm pretty sure I still get a trail before my execution!"

"Oh, you won't be executed… yet."

"Then what do you want with me?"

"We have unfinished business."

"What are you talking about? I was already in prison!"

"Don't move!"

More G.U.N. soldiers had arrived on the scene, blocking the exit. Shadow turned his attention to them and readied the Darksaber. The soldiers opened fire, but Shadow expertly twisted the black blade and blocked every shot, the bullets being vaporized. He advanced slowly, defending himself and when the soldiers rushed in for close combat, he cut them down.

Once they were all dead, Shadow glared at Eggman. He was used to being glared at by Shadow, but there was something different about it this time.

"Follow." Shadow growled and continued forward.

* * *

Rouge had only just laid down to sleep when her commutator went off. Sitting up again, she glared at it.

"Dammit, Shadow, I didn't mean this early!"

But as she considered the possible reasons Shadow might have for calling, concern swept away some of her irritation.

She answered the call.

"Shadow's doing _what!?_"

* * *

Eggman stepped over the pile of fresh corpses, still puzzling over why this was happening.

"So, I know that the truce between you and G.U.N. has been tenuous, but why exactly are you killing them?"

Shadow answered without looking back. "Things have changed."

"Well it must have been a quick change since you handed me over to them only hours ago." When Shadow didn't respond, Eggman tried again. "What changed?"

"I have."

"Why?" Eggman cried in exasperation.

"Enough questions." Shadow snapped.

They arrived at the base's hanger. Helicopters were lined up in neat rows before them. Shadow headed straight for the nearest one.

"Get in the pilot's seat." He ordered.

Eggman got in the seat and started the copter. "Where are we going?"

"To your base."

"Which one?"

"Any of them."

Growing more confused by the second, Eggman maneuvered the helicopter out of the hanger and into the sky. But as they were ascending, there came a thump and scrabbling at the door. It was forced open to reveal Rouge.

"What the hell, Shadow?"

"Ah yes. You. I'll have a use for you later. But for now…"

Shadow suddenly drove his foot into her stomach. Rouge fell from the helicopter, tumbling end over end for a few seconds before managing to catch herself. By then, the copter was well on its way.

"You know, Shadow, as much as I appreciate you breaking me out of jail," Eggman began, "I can't think of a single logical reason as to why you would."

"Shadow isn't here."

Eggman blinked. "What?"

The hedgehog slowly turned to face him. "I said, Shadow isn't here."

"What are you talking about?"

"You promised that you could build me anything that I require. It's time to live up to that."

.


	2. Needle in a Haystack

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

High heeled boots clicked back and forth across the floor. The bat wearing the boots wracked her brain as she paced, ears flattened in frustration and worry.

"Did he catch some weird space virus that's making him crazy? Or did Eggman do something?" Rouge muttered as she reached the wall and turned back to pace the other way again.

Omgea spoke up from his place in the corner. "Are you certain it was the real Shadow?"

"He made it home last night. The dust was disturbed. But he's not there anymore. But that could just mean that he's captured and held prisoner while this fake impersonates him. But if so, where did the fake come from? And if Eggman was already in jail, who could've captured Shadow? Not that many people even knew he was back!" Rouge wanted to scream. "None of this makes sense!"

The door to Team Dark's office opened, and the commander strode in. "Can someone explain what the hell Shadow is doing?"

"We cannot." Omega answered

"Can you at least explain where he's been all this time?"

"Oh yeah, he probably hasn't told you. Well that's kind of a long story, but the short version is that Shadow ended up in a different dimension and got mixed up in a big war." Rouge summarized. "Eggman and the Chaos Emeralds were there too, which is why we hadn't seen them around either."

"So, did something from that dimension have something to do with this?"

Rouge thought for a moment. "Maybe… Shadow told us that there was this evil wizard guy who could go inside his head. Maybe he broke something inside Shadow's brain."

"So, Shadow has gone insane." Commander Abraham concluded. "Then we'll have to kill him."

The thought of losing Shadow right after they just got him back caused Rouge's heart to falter in its rhythm. "No! You can't just kill him!"

"We also can't let him roam around slaughtering people with a laser sword."

"But it isn't his fault! We just need to fix him!"

"And fix him how? You said that this is the result of some weird space magic. And you're not even sure that that's the case. For all you know, Shadow is choosing to do this."

"You don't know that either!" Rouge shot back.

The commander was unyielding. "What we do know is that Shadow is killing people. And his choice or not, that can't be allowed."

"Can't we at least try to fix him before we just kill him?" Rouge was trying very hard not to sound too pleading.

Abraham sighed. "I will give you twenty-four hours to find out what's wrong with him. After that, I promise nothing."

Rouge wanted to complain that it wasn't enough time, that the commander wasn't being fair, but she knew that this was the best she was going to get. She and Omega rushed out the door.

"Where are we going?" Omega asked.

"To find Eggman."

* * *

Eggman stared in disbelief. "How are you alive?"

Shadow's face scrunched in annoyance, not an unusual expression even when the hedgehog himself was in control. "I told you to build me a gateway. Not waste my time with your questions."

"How can I not ask questions?"

Sidious raised Shadow's hand, then growled and dropped it in favor of bringing out the Darksaber.

"I should have already killed you for your betrayal. You should consider yourself _very _fortunate. Don't press your luck any further."

Eggman eyed the dark lightsaber, then headed for the lab.

Sidious put the Darksaber away with another growl. He despised his new body, even though in some ways, it was ideal. Not just because of Shadow's strength, but because he was ageless, a quality Sidious greatly desired. But ever since he woke up inside the recesses of Shadow's mind, he could feel no connection to the Force. Shadow had massive power of his own, but Sidious hadn't figured out how to use it.

Adding insult to injury, was the fact that Shadow was small. He was going to have to learn how to fight all over again. He would have to adopt a fighting style similar to Yoda's and that rankled Sidious.

His thoughts were then interrupted by another annoyance.

"_Let me out!"_

"_Ah yes, I almost forgot about you."_

"_What the hell did you do to me?"_

"_I took your body. I would've preferred to take control of literally anyone else, but I needed a new body quickly and I already had a connection with your mind."_

Indeed, Sidious's transfer into Shadow's mind had essentially been a desperate, ungainly scramble and the effort had caused him to pass out. He had no intention of letting the hedgehog know just how close of a call it had been.

"_So you possessed me? Shouldn't I be dead then?"_

"_Believe me, I could snuff you out any time I wish. But I won't. Not yet. Not until you watch everything you care about get destroyed. By your own hands."_

Sidious then delivered the mental equivalent of a slap, sending Shadow back to the corner of his mind. Refocusing on his outward environment, Sidious decided to take himself on a tour of Eggman's base.

He was currently in the hanger, where Eggman had parked the stolen copter. There were many brightly painted ships of varying sizes scattered about.

Having seen their like before, Sidious disregarded them went over to the wall, where there was a door and an elevator. Eggman had taken the elevator earlier. Opening the door painfully reminded Sidious that Shadow's ears were more sensitive than his own.

On the other side of the door was an automated factory, hard at work producing robots. Sidious only gave it a quick glance before deciding he'd seen enough.

He went over to the elevator and was reminded of Shadow's shortness again as he had to stretch to reach the button. After a brief ride upwards, Sidious found himself in Eggman's laboratory.

The middle of the room was dominated by a massive workbench for constructing specialized robots too sophisticated for the factory downstairs to handle. One wall had chalk boards with calculations and notes scribbled all over them. Another had cork boards with blueprints and newspaper clippings pined to them. (Sidious blinked in astonishment that this planet was still so primitive as to use _physical newspapers_).

Yet another wall had a massive bank of computers, in front of which sat the fat scientist himself. Sidious left him to his work and went through another door.

This one led to a living area with a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Sidious promptly decided that these would be his quarters now.

Reclining on the bed, he realized that he'd better learn as much as he could about this new world. Sidious sank down into Shadow's mind.

He started with people Shadow knew. Two results came up at once, Rouge the bat and E-123 Omega. He had seen them in previous excursions into Shadow's head, and knew Shadow valued them highly. When he examined Shadow's thoughts about Omega, Sidious discovered a connection to another person.

Miles Prower or Tails was the one Team Dark went to when Omega needed extensive repairs. Young, but highly intelligent and a talented pilot, he could be useful, particularly if he had to kill Eggman. Connected to him was the blue hedgehog Eggman so loved to rant about. Feeling he knew enough about him already, Sidious looked for another connection.

This led to Knuckles the Echidna. Shadow didn't know him very well, but what he did know caught Sidious's interest immediately.

There existed a gem that was not only more powerful than the Chaos Emeralds, it held dominion over them. The Master Emerald. Knuckles was its guardian, and rarely left the floating island where the Emerald was kept.

With this information in mind, Sidious decided it was time he learned more about how Shadow's powers worked.

* * *

Shadow still had all seven Emeralds in his possession, so Rouge was able to use a Chaos Emerald tracker to find him. Even as she and Omega followed the signal, Rouge berated herself for not being able to nip it in the bud.

_I shouldn't have let him go. I knew something was wrong last night. I knew he was probably trying to downplay it. I shouldn't have let him go off by himself. I'm never letting him go anywhere alone ever again. Why did he always have to be like this? Why does he always have to be so stubborn? Why did he have to be so-_

Rouge slammed into Omega's back.

"Ow! Omega, why did you stop?"

"We have arrived."

Rouge looked past Omega to see one of Eggman's bases.

"Okay Omega, here's the plan. You attack the front while I sneak in through the east vent."

"Mission accepted."

Omega promptly began launching missiles at the main entrance. Rouge made her way over to the air vent and slipped inside.

* * *

Eggman sat at his desk, crunching numbers. Shadow- '_Sidious_' Eggman reminded himself, came in again.

"What is your progress?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure I can recreate the events that sent me to your galaxy in the first place, however Chaos energy is very unpredictable. We call it 'Chaos' for a reason. You could end up inside an already existing object or appear over a pool of lava. I can't even guarantee that you'll end up in that same galaxy. This did all originally happen by accident, you know."

Sidious slowly approached. "Whether you live or die depends on your usefulness to me. If you're going to be useless…"

The base rumbled and alarms began wailing.

Sidious growled. "Now what?"

"We're under attack!" Eggman answered.

"You stay here." The Sith in Shadow's body ran from the room.

As Eggman wondered if this was a good opportunity to escape, Rouge dropped down from the ceiling. He wasn't sure if he should be happy to see her.

"What did you do!?" Rouge snarled.

"I've done a lot of things. But I'm assuming you're talking about Shadow, in which case I did nothing."

"Then why did he break you out of prison?" Rouge demanded.

"He didn't, exactly. It was Sidious."

Rouge blinked. "But Shadow said he was dead! He made sure of it!"

"Well, apparently he didn't. Because Sidious is now in control of Shadow's body."

"That's impossible!"

"Well clearly it's possible, or else we wouldn't be here." Eggman pointed out.

"How do we fix him?" Rouge asked, becoming less angry and more desperate.

"How should I know? This has to do with all that crazy Force nonsense!"

"Then we need to find those Jedi people."

Eggman figured his odds of survival were best if he helped Rouge. "He wants to go back to his galaxy and tasked me with finding a way."

"Do you have a way?"

"Sort of. I have… ideas. But I need to run tests before I can guarantee anything."

"What kind of tests?" Rouge questioned.

"Well mainly, pinpointing exactly where this other galaxy is. Which could take years."

There was no question that that was going to take way too long.

"What if you were to take a guess?" Rouge ventured.

"A guess?" Eggman exclaimed in disbelief. "You want me to take a look at the whole multiverse and just guess?"

"There has to be some factor or science-y bullshit that narrows it down!" Rouge insisted.

Eggman groaned. "Well their universe seems to operate on a completely different type of energy than ours. We have Chaos energy, they have the Force. That didn't stop Shadow from being able to use his powers, though that could be because of the presence of the Chaos Emeralds or Shadow being a fount of Chaos energy himself. I've noticed Sidious can't seem to use the Force here, but that could be because he's in Shadow's body-"

Getting impatient with Eggman's rambling, Rouge cut in. "So what does all that tell you?"

"It can't be any dimension remotely close to ours. And then there's the strange fact that when Shadow and I were brought to that galaxy, the Chaos Emeralds were scattered all over it. Millions of light-years apart, much further than they usually disperse. That could have been the power of the Force interfering with them-"

"Can we focus please? We don't have much time here!"

"Well sorry, it's just this stuff is fascinating! Plus, my life kind of depends on me figuring it out, so cut me some slack! I'm being asked to find the tiniest needle in an infinite haystack!"

"Well you've jumped dimensions before, haven't you?"

"Yes, to similar dimensions. Ones that are home to slightly different versions of ourselves." Eggman explained.

"Well, you went to that dimension and you built shit. Can't you trace any of those things?"

"I have tracing devices for them, but they're all in that dimension. All my stuff got taken away from me and scraped when I was captured. I do have my emergency distress signaler hidden in my glove, but if they can't come to me that's useless. The only way…" Eggman paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "Orbot."

Rouge was confused, but hopeful. "What about Orbot?"

Eggman was grinning now. "He's still in that other dimension. I left him behind when he got broken. And he, like many of the robots I use now, was powered by a Chaos Drive. And Chaos energy… is something I can track."


	3. What's up with Shadow?

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

The factory lit up with glorious explosions. Omega tore through wave after wave of Eggman's robots. All was beautiful destruction. Omega wondered if this was what adrenalin felt like. Physical feelings and emotions were always something he struggled to understand.

One of the few he had learned was confusion, which he certainly felt now. Just what was Shadow doing?

Eventually, Eggman's robots stopped coming, leaving Omega with the feeling referred to as 'disappointment.'

Then Shadow stepped into view.

"Has your brain malfunctioned? Why would you free our enemy?"

Shadow held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Listen… Omega. I can explain this. You see… I need him. I must return to that other galaxy."

"Why?"

"I'm worried about the clones. I realized something that might be a danger to them, so I have to get back there quickly."

"Why did you not inform Rouge and I of this? Did you learn nothing?"

"I didn't think you would understand."

Omega experienced another familiar emotion: offence. "The only thing I do not understand is your logic. Are we not classified as friends?"

"Okay, okay, you're right. And now that you're here and you know what's going on, why don't you help me?" Shadow offered.

"What help do you need?"

Just then, their conversation was interrupted by a call from Rouge. "Omega, Shadow's been possessed! If you see him, don't listen to anything he says!"

Omega looked back at Shadow and experienced what he had been told was an 'OH SHIT!' moment.

* * *

Rouge arrived downstairs to find Omega attempting to fight Shadow without killing him and with only one arm. Omega had various slash marks and stab wounds all over his body.

Omega was designed to be able to take a lot of punishment, but that laser sword cut through him with ease.

"Let's get out of here!"

As Shadow spun to face her, Rouge threw down a smoke bomb to blind him. When the smoke cleared, the bat and robot were gone.

Sidious went back upstairs to check on Eggman. "Have you made yourself useful?"

"Of course, I have! I found a way to pick your galaxy out from the millions of your universe among millions of universes!" Eggman clacked a few keys on his keyboard. "And there it is!"

"Good. Now get started on building us a way to get there. I shall return shortly."

"Where are you going?"

"To pick up something I need."

* * *

Tails got up from the couch and went to answer the urgent knocking on his door. He opened it to find a frazzled Rouge and Omega carrying his severed arm.

"I need you to reattach this."

Team Dark showing up on his doorstep was not a particularly unusual event so Tails wasn't fazed. "I see. Come in."

They all went to Tails's workshop, and Omega made himself comfortable on the workbench.

"So… wanna tell me what happened?" Tails asked as he got out his tools.

Rouge sighed. "Well, it's a long story-"

"Shadow was teleported to an alternate dimension and got possessed by an evil wizard and now he's working with Eggman." Omega interrupted.

"-but that's the short version."

Tails blinked slowly. "Okaaay."

"Is Sonic here?" Rouge asked.

"Yeah, I'll get him." Tails went outside and twirled his tails to fly up to the roof. "Sonic, wake up!"

"Huh?" The blue hedgehog sat up. "Oh hey, buddy. What's for breakfast?"

"We have a problem. A Shadow-related problem."

"So it's going to be that kind of day is it?" Sonic hopped off the roof.

They went into the workshop with Rouge and Omega and Tails got started on the repairs.

A while later, Omega was repaired and Sonic and Tails were brought up to speed.

"So, what's the plan?" Sonic asked.

"First, we need to capture Shadow. Then, we need to find the Jedi." Rouge answered.

"Well that sounds easy enough. Let's go!" Sonic darted outside. Then he came back in. "Quick question: Where's Shadow?"

Before anyone could answer, a red form appeared behind Sonic. "Can anyone here explain why Shadow stole the Master Emerald?"

Rouge let out a very long sigh. "Take a seat."

One explanation later…

"I see, that explains a lot. So how are we supposed to find these wizards?" Knuckles asked.

"That part's simple. Eggman is already building a portal that will take us to that dimension." Rouge said.

"We need to capture Shadow so that he's not a threat. You can help out and we can recover the Master Emerald in the process." Sonic proposed.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

Eggman was still working on the gateway when Sidious returned.

"Is that the Master Emerald?"

"It is."

"Do you know what that means?" Eggman yelled.

"It means I now posses the most powerful thing this universe has to offer."

"It means you've drawn the attention of that stupid echidna! And when he shows up, he's gonna bring Sonic with him!"

"They do not concern me."

"They should! Especially if the damage to my factory is as extensive as I think it is! Working together, the two of them could beat Shadow in a fight, and then where will you be?"

"I've already encountered the echidna's fighting style once. He was strong but his attacks were predictable. And I doubt this 'Sonic' will put up a much better fight." Sidious dismissed. "And even if he does, I posses this." He gestured to the Master Emerald.

Eggman rose a brow. "Can you even use it?"

"I can certainly feel it. The Emerald feels like it contains a thousand hurricanes. So while you finish construction on the gateway, I shall train myself to use it."

Sidious left the room, leaving Eggman contemplate the implications of Sidious learning to use Shadow's powers not only while in possession of the Chaos Emeralds, but the Master Emerald as well.

He didn't think he had ever feared for his life quite this much before.

And the worst part of it all, he was going to have to rely on Sonic and friends to save him.

* * *

Eggman put the final Emerald into place. At last, it was finally ready.

Sidious reentered. "Is it ready?"

"It is, but there's still one major flaw. The gateway will only be stable for a few seconds before the Emeralds scatter themselves like last time."

"Then we will find them again."

The alarms went off again.

"I told you this would happen!" Eggman snapped.

Sonic entered the room first. "Hey Shadow! Or Sidious. Or Shadidious."

'Shadidious' ignited the Darksaber. "Sonic the hedgehog. The doctor tells me you're quite the menace. However, Shadow's memories paint you as a mere annoyance."

"Well, it's nice to know he thinks about me."

The other mobians caught up with Sonic and burst into the room.

"Get your hands off the Master Emerald!" Knuckles bellowed and charged in to deliver the first punch.

He was knocked back by a Chaos Spear to the face.

Everyone paused.

Sidious grinned.

"So that's what Shadow's smile looks like. It's just as horrifying as I imagined it would be." Sonic quipped.

He shot forwards in a spindash and landed a solid hit. Shadidious was knocked against the wall. His speed was truly stunning. However, Sidious knew he possessed far more power.

He unleashed a flurry of Chaos Spears and everyone dove for cover except for Omega, who took the hits and brought out his flamethrower.

Shadidious jumped over the flames and swung down at Omega with the Darksaber, only to be knocked out of the air by Sonic.

"Come on man, Shadow's way faster than this! You need to do better."

"Don't give him hints!" Rouge screeched.

"Don't worry guys, this guy's got nothing."

Shadidious swiped viciously at him. Sonic not only sidestepped every blow, he did so while making faces. Shadow was right, he is annoying.

Then Knuckles grabbed him from behind.

"Hold him still for me!" Sonic wound up a punch.

Shadidious disappeared, and Sonic's fist collided with Knuckles's face.

"Oops! Sorry!"

Shadidious appeared back over by the Master Emerald. It was clear this fight was not going well. He needed more practice with Shadow's powers.

"Activate the portal!" He shouted.

Eggman did so.

Within the metal archway that defined the portal, the glow of the Emeralds intensified. There was a crackling of electricity and then a screech like tearing steel as a rift in space and time opened under the arch.

Shadidious heaved the Master Emerald through the portal, then seized Eggman and dove after it. The archway shuddered and cracks began appearing in it.

"Get back here with my Emerald!" Knuckles roared and charged through.

Sonic was on his heals, followed by Omega and Rouge.

Tails paused.

He looked at the trembling archway, hearing the car-wreak scream of metal coming from both the arch and the ominous looking void it contained.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

He jumped through anyway.

The archway shattered with a brilliant flash of light. When it faded, there was no trace of a gateway ever having been there.


	4. Meet the Skywalkers

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

When the blinding light finally faded, Tails found himself in the middle of some kind of town. He didn't have time to process much more than this as he was suddenly struck in the back by something fast and heavy.

The next thing he knew, he was lying in a soft bed. Tails cracked opened his eyes to see a robot with a head shaped vaguely like a skull staring down at him.

Tails's response to this was to scream and kick it in the face. The robot fell backward and crashed against the floor.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down!" Tails's attention snapped over to a human standing off to the side. The human held up his hands placatingly. "It's okay, it's okay. You're fine. That's just a medical droid."

"Wha-what happened?" Tails stuttered, not quite ready to relax yet.

The human looked sheepish. "Well… I kind of ran you over with my land speeder. Sorry."

The medical droid got up again and resumed its examination. Tails allowed it to do so but kept a critical eye on the robot.

"Why does your medical droid look so creepy?"

The human shrugged.

As he continued looking at the robot, Tails's expression changed from wary to fascinated.

"You have sustained some bruising on your upper back and head. I have not detected any broken bones or other injuries. But perhaps you would like something to calm your nerves?" The droid suggested.

"No thanks. But would you mind telling me where I am?" Tails asked.

"You are in the queen's personal medical facility."

"Um, which queen?"

The human looked shocked. "Do you… not know which planet you're on?"

"I don't actually." Tails admitted.

"You're on the planet Naboo. Specifically, the city of Theed. How did you get here?"

"Well you see, I'm from another dimension and I got here by traveling through a portal powered by the seven Chaos Emeralds."

The human looked at the droid. "Are you sure he doesn't have any brain damage?"

"I assure you that his brain is fine." The droid replied.

"Look, it's a long story and I don't have time to explain all of it. But do you know where I can find the Jedi?"

The human crossed his arms and pouted. "I wish. I've wanted to join the Jedi for years, but my dad won't let me."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know, he never wants to talk about it. I tried asking my mom, but she just says to leave it alone."

"Huh." Tails started to think and then paused. "By the way what's your name? Thinking of you as 'the human' is starting to feel speciest."

"Oh, right. I'm Luke. Luke Skywalker."

"Skywalker…" Tails remembered Rouge saying that name at some point during her story but couldn't quite remember who he was. The name Luke definitely hadn't come up.

"Luke!" The door slid open and another, older human wearing worker's overalls entered. One of his hands was mechanical. "Luke are you-" He cut himself off, staring at Tails. "Who's this?"

"My name's Miles Prower, but I go by Tails."

"Okay, but what are you doing in the palace?"

"I kind of accidently ran him over with my landspeeder." Luke confessed.

"Luke, we've been over this. Number one rule of operating a speeder: Always pay attention."

"I know, I know! But he just came out of nowhere! One second the road was clear, the next he was there!"

Tails spoke up in Luke's defense. "Yeah, I kind of just appeared there. But don't worry, your creepy-looking robot says I'm fine."

The man sighed. "Well anyway, I need your help in the hanger. One of the starfigher's engines exploded for some reason and we need to move the wreckage."

"Exploded?" Luke gasped.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to look at it to find out why."

"Maybe I could help. I'm good at fixing stuff." Tails offered.

"You just got run over by a speeder. You should go home and rest."

"Yeah… that's not really an option right now. I'm kind of stranded here." Tails explained sheepishly. "So how about I help you and maybe you help me find the Jedi?"

"I'm afraid I'm not gonna be much help in that regard."

"Well, if you could at least get me some form of transportation?" Tails suggested hopefully.

"Alright, come on."

The three of them walked down several long hallways until they eventually reached the large hanger. The hanger was filled with dozens of small ships held in place by futuristic-looking clamps. One of the ships was on the ground with flames spewing out of what had to be its engine. A few robots were trying to put the fire out.

They approached the pilot, who was sitting on a crate and examining the holes burnt into his flight jacket.

"So tell me again how this happened?" The older human asked.

"Well I was taking the ship out for practice maneuvers and everything was going just fine, and then all of a sudden the engine goes 'bang!' and all the systems shut off and then well… that happened." The pilot pointed at the flaming scrap heap. "If I weren't about to land anyway, I'd be dead."

"I'll take a look at the engine as soon as the fire is put out."

Luke held out his hand and a fire extinguisher floated from its place on the wall to Luke's grasp.

Tails stared, bug-eyed. "I thought you said you weren't a Jedi!"

The older man directed a stern glare at Luke. "He's not."

Luke groaned and busied himself helping put out the fire.

"What was that about?" Tails asked.

"That is none of your business."

"But doesn't he have that Force thing the Jedi use?" Tails persisted.

"Having the Force does not make you a Jedi."

"Why wouldn't you let him be a Jedi?"

Tails found the glare directed at himself. "That does not concern you."

"Well, okay. But it concerns him doesn't it?" Tails gestured at Luke. "If you don't want him to be a Jedi, you could at least tell him why."

The man looked at Luke and his expression softened. "I wish it were that simple. My history with the Jedi has been… complicated."

"So, you do know the Jedi!"

"I used to. I don't know where they are now."

"Surely you could make a guess?" Tails pressed.

"I suppose. But let's save that for after we fix the ship."

By now the fire was out, so they began working on the ship. The man immediately checked on the engine, which was totaled. Various pieces of it were scattered all over the interior.

"Yeesh, what did this?" Luke asked.

"Could be a terrorist attack or sabotage." The man mused. "We should lock down all the other ships until we find out what's going on."

"Terrorists? Is that something that happens often?" Tails questioned.

"Not usually, but there has been a lot of uneasy tension in the galaxy for quite a while."

"Master Anakin! Master Anakin!" A golden robot was moving towards them at a rapid shuffle.

The man gave a long-suffering sigh. "What is it, 3PO?"

"The queen instructed me to inform you that dinner is served."

"Well tell her I'm gonna be late. I'm kinda in the middle of something."

"Of course, Master Anakin."

Tails gasped and pointed. "You're Anakin!" Now he knew why that name was familiar. Anakin Skywalker.

"Yeah, I'm Anakin." Under his breath he muttered, _damn it 3PO!_ "So what?"

"So what!? You're one of the Jedi I came here looking for!" Tails put a hand to his chin. "Though you're a lot older than I expected."

Luke looked confused. "A Jedi? My dad's not a Jedi."

"I'm not a Jedi anymore. I'm retired."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't need to know."

"All I've wanted is to be a Jedi and you've been one this entire time!?" Luke shouted, feeling a bit betrayed.

"No! I told you, I'm retired!"

"Why?"

"I wanted a different kind of life."

"The Jedi are the greatest legends in the whole galaxy!"

"Guys!" Tails interrupted. "Whether you're retired or not, I need your help!"

"Well you can get help from the actual Jedi."

"But-"

"That part of my life is over! And now I'm just a mechanic who has a lot of work to do." Anakin turned back to the exploded engine and went back to shifting through the debris.

As he moved a big piece out of the way, he saw something shining. He moved more debris aside so he could get a better look at it.

Anakin uncovered a yellow fist-sized gem sitting among the scrap. He studied the gem. He hadn't seen anything like this since…

Anakin turned to face Tails again. "Where are you from?"


	5. Always Time for a Race

**Sorry, I accidentally posted the wrong chapter yesterday. Here is the correct one.**

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Sonic found himself in the middle of a desert. He looked around and saw nothing but sand for miles.

"Either I'm in the wrong dimension, or Rouge greatly exaggerated how technologically advanced this place is."

Sonic picked a direction and started running. If nothing else, this place was great for running, though he would have preferred a more colorful environment. Or a more interesting environment. Or less sand. He had to stop to dump out his shoes multiple times.

Just when he started to think this place was nothing but an empty wasteland, he saw a town. Finally, civilization!

Sonic cut his speed so as not to damage anything and set about exploring the town. He soon came across a large building in the center of town. Some obviously drunk humans came out of it, ritzy music flowing from the door before it closed behind them.

That place must be a bar. Bars were good places to get information, according the movies. Such was Sonic's thought process as he went inside.

The inside was noisy, smelly, and crowded. Sonic drew instant attention with his bright blue fur and his 'obviously not a local' curiosity. Some of the patrons began whispering to each other, clearly talking about him. Some of them even stood up and quickly walked out a back door. Sonic ignored them and strolled right up to the counter. The bartender reluctantly approached him.

"What's your poison?"

"Information, actually. First of all, where am I?"

The bartender erupted with laughter. "People usually have a few drinks before they start asking that question."

Sonic tried to explain. "I'm not really from here. I came from another dimension."

"I've heard that one before."

"Look, my friend been possessed by an evil wizard and I need the Jedi to perform an exorcism on him or something."

The bartender blinked at him. "Okay that's a new one."

Sonic was getting impatient. "Do you know where the Jedi are or not?"

"I've heard a few rumors about where they live these days. But you're not gonna get that kind of information for free."

Sonic winced. "Yeah, I might have forgotten to pack my wallet before I jumped dimensions."

"Well, then it was nice talking to ya." The bartender turned his back and walked away.

Sonic crossed his arms. "Rude."

He left the bar and explored the town some more. Eventually he heard the sound of a cheering crowd. With not much else to do, Sonic decided to investigate. What he found was a large canyon full of people. Sonic peered into the canyon to see what everyone was looking at.

Sitting at the bottom of the canyon were various machines. They looked like large jet engines with a cockpit strapped to them using only a few cables. Like if someone wanted to build a plane but didn't have all the parts. It didn't take Sonic long to piece together what was going on here.

A race.

Han Solo sat in the stands and sipped on his Bloody Rancor while he watched the racers line up and get ready. He had some time to kill before he had to leave for his next job, and what better way to kill time than to watch people kill each other in a podrace?

The announcer's voice came through the speaker system. "And the racers have taken their positions at the starting line! If you want to place a bet folks, now's the time!"

Someone suddenly pushed past Han, making him spill his drink.

"Hey, watch it!"

The small blue alien ignored him and jumped out of the stands.

"What's this? Some random member of the crowd has just jumped out onto the racetrack! Could he be a superfan looking for an autograph? It looks like he's… taking a position next to the podracers! And stretching!? He can't be doing what I think he's doing!"

"Oh, I think he is!" The other announcer replied. "He's actually going to try to race against the pods on foot!"

"Entering a podrace without a pod! I've heard better ideas from people high on death sticks!"

Han rubbed his eyes and stared down at the track, but they continued to agree with his ears. The blue alien had dropped into a runner's crouch and was waiting for the race to start.

"And in three… two… one!"

The starting horn blew, and the racers took off. When the dust at the starting line cleared, the insane blue alien was still there in the same position. Han was mildly surprised that no one had run him over.

"He must've realized how crazy this is."

Then, he moved.

At least, Han assumed that's what happened because when he looked away for a second, he'd vanished.

"Oh my god! I do not believe what's happening here!"

Han looked up at the viewing monitors and saw that blue creature _running past the other racers!_

"How is he doing that!?" The announcer shouted.

"What species is he? Where did he come from?" The second announcer added.

"I don't know but someone get me his autograph!" Replied the first announcer.

Han pinched himself. He had to be dreaming. He had to be!

"What's he- Is he running _backwards_!?"

Han looked back at the monitors and saw that the blue creature was indeed running backwards and casually waving at the racers as he passed them. Han couldn't believe this. This was really happening. This… whatever it was, was outrunning podracers. _And wasn't even trying_!

Sonic caught up to the lead racer. These pods were faster than formula one cars, but still no match for him.

"Hey there! Lovely day for a race isn't it?" Sonic called cheerfully to the lead racer.

The four-armed alien yelled something unflattering and shook one of his fists at Sonic.

"I have no idea what you just said so I'll just assume you said hi!"

The alien pulled out a gun.

"And now I'm going to assume it was a death threat."

The aliens started shooting at Sonic. He ducked as the shots whizzed by his head.

"Okay, if you're just gonna be a jerk, then I'm just gonna go."

Sonic accelerated, leaving him in the dust. Sonic bolted across the finish line with a huge lead, completely humiliating the other racers. The crowd was dead silent.

"What, no applause?"

A human male wearing a vest over dirty, wrinkled cloths approached. He just kind of stared at Sonic before finally saying, "Who are you?"

"I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog." He flashed a grin and thumps up as he usually did when introducing himself to someone new.

"Where did you come from? Because I've been all over the galaxy and I've never seen anything like you."

"I'm sure you haven't." Sonic agreed. "You see, I'm from another dimension."

Han would normally find that ludicrous, but he had just watched this guy win a podrace by running backward. "So, what are you doing here?"

Sonic became a bit more serious. "I'm here to save one of my friends and I could use a little help with transportation."

"Really? Because I just so happen to need a bit of help myself."

"What do you need?"

"Well, my boss wants me to get a certain… thing. And this certain thing is very hard to get."

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "Are you asking me to help you steal something?"

"It's just some rock! Nothing anyone's gonna really miss, just some rich guy's souvenir."

Sonic shook his head. "I don't do stealing. I'll just find someone else to give me a ride."

Han's voice took on a warning tone. "I think you'll find that's a lot easier said than done. This place is crawling with scoundrels and none of them are going to give you a ride for free. In fact, a lot of them probably want to kill you right now."

"Why? What did I do?"

"You made them all lose their bets on the podrace."

A blaster bolt struck the sand near Sonic, kicking up a puff of sand. Not far behind it, an alien came charging towards Sonic and screaming incoherently. In an eyeblink, Sonic had swiped the gun and kicked the guy holding it face-first into the sand.

"Why don't you come with me before things get really ugly?" Han offered.

"I not afraid of a few thugs with guns." Sonic boasted.

"Well okay then, I guess you're not in any hurry to save your friend." Han started walking away. "I'm sure they'll be fine while you waste time fighting off everyone in town."

Sonic groaned. "Okay fine, you've made your point!"

Han made a 'follow me' gesture and started running. He led Sonic through the alleyways to an open area that was being used as a docking bay. He straight for a blocky-looking ship that had definitely seen better days.

"Um, I not gonna act like I'm an expert on spaceships, but are you sure this thing flies?"

"She might not look pretty but trust me, The Ghost is always ready to fly."

"The Ghost, huh? Do you call it that because it looks like it's already dead?" Sonic snarked.

"It had that name long before I bought it." Han said mildly indignantly.

"You!" A green fish-faced alien yelled from the ship. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Han rolled his eyes. "Greedo, I told you I was just gonna watch a quick race."

"And I told you we don't have time for that!" Greedo shouted.

"Well, you're gonna be super glad that I did, because you won't believe what I found." Han gestured at Sonic. "This guy won the podrace. On foot."

Greedo stared at Han. "…Have you been smoking death sticks again?"

"No, and the entire town is after him so we kinda need to get a move on."

An angry mob could be seen running towards the ship.

"Damnit Han! What did you do this time?" Greedo yelled as he went to the cockpit and began preparing for takeoff.

"It wasn't me! I told you, they're after him!"

"And you decided to become friends with him!"

Sonic shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a likable guy."

"Trust me, this is all gonna be worth it in the end. He's agreed to help us with the job."

"Yeah? And how much of the cut does he want?"

"I'm not in this for the money. I need help finding the Jedi." Sonic explained.

"See? Doesn't want any cut, he just wants us to fly him somewhere."

Greedo sighed. "Fine."

Han got in the other pilot's seat and they flew away.

"So now that I'm on board with this, what are we doing?" Sonic asked.

Greedo stared disbelievingly. "You didn't even tell him what we're doing? And he still agreed?"

"All I know is that we're stealing something from some guy." Sonic's expression twisted. He still wasn't happy about the stealing part.

"Rumors have been going around," Han began. "About these unusual gemstones that have been just appearing out of thin air. One of them is supposedly in the possession of this rich guy. And for whatever reason, Jaba wants it."

Sonic was now extremely interested. "Gemstones that just appeared?"

"Yeah, they're part of some old legend."

"Would this legend possibly be about a hedgehog that came out of nowhere and started a clone revolution that resulted in the government collapsing?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"How long ago did these events supposedly occur?"

"Something like twenty something years ago?" Han shrugged. "Honestly, if you ask me, the whole thing's ridiculous."

Sonic leaned back, suddenly feeling a lot less guilty about the impending theft.


	6. Smooth Criminals

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

I was another busy night in Canto Bight. The alcohol was flowing, the money was jingling, and Snook Uccrfay had just won another dice game. Life was good.

As he reached greedily for his pile of winnings, a sudden bright light blinded everyone at the table. When it cleared, a diminutive alien was sitting in the pile of shiny stuff.

"Thief!" Snook cried. "Security!"

Rouge looked around, super confused. She discovered to her great pleasure that she was sitting in a pile of treasure. She was less pleased to hear someone yell 'thief!' at her. Rouge reflexively sprang up and spread her wings but didn't get far before she was shocked into submission by the security guards.

"She used a flashbang to blind us! She was trying to steal my winnings!"

A chorus of voices agreed, cursing Rouge for ruining the fun. The guards took Rouge to the prison. Snook turned back to his winnings to start counting. In the middle of the pile, he found something odd.

A large, silver, diamond-cut gemstone lay nestled among the gold. Snook couldn't recall anyone betting it, but he wasn't complaining. He couldn't wait to start showing it off.

* * *

Rouge woke up in a cell, her whole body aching. She groaned and sat up.

"Well, good morning sleeping beauty!"

Rouge whipped towards the sound and shifted to a defensive stance. A dark-skinned human was grinning at her.

"So, what are you in for?"

"Stealing, I think? Except I didn't steal anything. Yet. What about you?"

He scoffed. "Some sore loser accused me of cheating."

"Do you know anything about the Jedi?" Rouge asked.

"What, we're not gonna introduce ourselves? Here, I'll go first. I am Lando Calrissian. And you are?"

"Not in the mood for a conversation." Rouge began examining the lock on the cell door but kept part of her attention on Lando via an ear turned in his direction.

"Well miss 'not in the mood,' if you're looking for the Jedi you definitely came to the wrong planet. But perhaps I could point you in the right direction?"

"What's the price?" Rouge asked, not pausing her inspection.

"Well that depends, what do you got?"

"The possibility of getting us both out of this cell."

Lando wasn't impressed. "I'm afraid I've already got someone on that."

Rouge briefly considered offering some… other favors, then decided that she wasn't that desperate yet.

Before Rouge could crack the lock, a robot appeared outside the cell. Rouge considered herself to be pretty good at reading robot expressions and this robot looked very annoyed.

"Lando." Its voice was feminine and definitely annoyed. "Did you get caught cheating again?"

"Look, it wasn't my fault!"

"Just like how the Sarlacc Incident wasn't your fault? And who's this, your latest girlfriend?"

"L3, this is Not in the Mood. Not in the Mood, this is L3."

"My name is Rouge. And I'm not his girlfriend."

"And I suppose you lost all our money, didn't you?" L3 continued.

"Just get me to another casino and I can win it all back." Lando placated.

Rouge saw her chance. "Perhaps I could help with that? In exchange for helping me find the Jedi?"

Lando grinned. "I'm listening."

"Just like that? How long have you known this girl?"

"About five minutes."

L3 made an electronic sighing sound. "I suppose you've done dumber things with girls you've only known for five minutes."

"We just need a couple smoke bombs and one of those guards' uniforms." Rouge said confidently.

* * *

Rouge stealthily crawled across the ceiling. She scanned the casino below her. All the rich people were still going about their drunken revelry. Rouge analyzed them, trying to determine which one had the most money at the moment. Then she spotted the guy who called her a thief and almost fell off the ceiling.

He was holding a Chaos Emerald.

He was proudly showing it off to his peers like it was some sort of trophy. He was even taking selfies and posting them to whatever this place's equivalent of Instagram was. Almost as if he was begging for someone to steal it off him.

Rouge activated the comm Lando had given her. "Alright, I found the perfect target. Get ready." She took out a smoke bomb and launched it at him.

It landed at his feet and sprayed a cloud of smoke into the air. She dropped into the smoke cloud.

"Ahhh! What's going on?" Snook screamed. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Sir, are you alright?"

As the smoke began to clear, Snook saw that it was one of the security guards.

"I'm fine, I just need…" Snook looked back at the table to see all his winnings gone. He immediately broke out into unintelligible swearing.

"Would you be looking for this?" A female voice called out.

There was the thief from before. She was holding up the strange gemstone and waving it smugly.

"Get her! Get her!" Snook ordered.

She bolted. The guard pulled out his comm. "We have a robbery in progress. I need guards at every exit."

Rouge raced up a staircase with about half a dozen guards following her. Eventually, they cornered her on a balcony.

"Freeze! You've got nowhere left to run!"

Rouge held her hands up. "All right, you got me."

"Drop the money you've stolen!"

Rouge calmly put down the Emerald.

"And the rest of it!"

"All right, all right." Rouge slowly reached into her pocket…

And pulled out another smoke bomb.

Smoke filled the air before the guards could react. They shot blindly into the smoke. When it cleared, the girl and the Emerald were gone.

Rouge fluttered down to land in front of the Millennium Falcon. Lando was already inside, dumping all the money out of the pockets of his security guard uniform.

"See, L3? I told you everything would be fine."

"There's still time for things to go wrong." L3 informed him.

"Just fire up the engines and get us out of here."

* * *

"Hyperspace is boring!" Sonic whined. He hadn't believed it possible for traveling at lightspeed to be boring, but somehow, these people had done it.

Where's the rush? Where's the G-force? Could he at least get a little sensation of movement?

"Are we there yet?"

Greedo groaned. "Did we really need to bring this guy along?"

"Trust me, he's gonna be useful." Han replied. "With him, this heist will only take about five seconds and all we'll have to do is fly the ship. Easy money."

"When has it ever been easy?"

"Well, there was that one time-"

"I told you, we are not speaking of that mission ever again!"

They dropped out of hyperspace. Han turned to Sonic and gave him a device.

"What's this thing for?" Sonic asked.

Jabba says this can track the rock we're looking for."

"Really? And where did he get this, exactly?" Sonic tried to keep the question innocent and leave all the suspicion he felt out of his voice.

"How should I know? Besides, that doesn't matter. Just turn it on and find out where the thing is."

Sonic switched it on. "Okay, it looks like it's… moving right past us."

Han looked out the window while Greedo checked the scanners.

"Oh no." Han moaned. "Not him again."

"Who?"

Han pointed at a roundish ship that the tracker said housed the Emerald. "Lando"

"I don't know who that is." Sonic pointed out.

"He's a fancy-pants, smug-faced, cape-wearing cheater! Greedo, get on the guns!"

* * *

"So I've given you what you want, now where do I find the Jedi?"

"Well, according to some stories I've heard, they're on Lothal. I can get you to the planet but after that, you're on your own." Lando answered.

"Good enough."

The ship shuddered.

"Oh, now what?"

"We're under attack." L3 blandly responded.

"By who?" Lando asked.

"Looks like it's your old friend."

"Oh no, not him!"

"Who's him?" Rouge asked.

"He's a sloppy, arrogant, unfashionable, moldy fruit basket!" Lando got up and went to the guns. "I'm gonna blow him out of the sky!"


	7. The Ghost vs the Falcon

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

L3 flipped the Falcon around and dove after the Ghost. Lando fired away, pounding at its shields. The Ghost spun away, then tried to come around. On board the Falcon, Rouge found the other gun turret and joined Lando in trying to shoot the other ship. On the Ghost, Sonic did the same thing, but with much less success.

"Where did you learn to shoot?" Greedo criticized.

"I didn't!"

"Han, where did you find this guy again?"

The two ships ended up flying parallel with little space between.

"This for what you did at Black Spire!" Han yelled and jerked the steering mechanism.

The Ghost slammed against the Falcon, damaging both ships. The Ghost, being more heavily armored, came out with less damage than the Falcon.

Lando responded by spraying mines from the Falcon. The mines went off with bright flashes, disabling the Ghost. L3 took this opportunity to jump to hyperspace.

"No, no, come on!" Han cried and slammed his fists against the controls.

"What's the plan now, genius?" Greedo asked.

"First, we restore power. Then, we think of a plan." Han answered.

"Well this guy you brought along can't shoot. Is he at least good at fixing ships?"

"Um, no." Sonic answered.

"What exactly are you useful for again?"

"I'm the fastest thing alive!"

"Super." Greedo deadpanned.

Sonic fell asleep while Han and Greedo fixed the ship, which did not improve Sonic's image in Greedo's eyes. When Sonic woke up again, they were somewhere else entirely.

This planet was much prettier than the one Sonic started on. The Ghost touched down on a strip of land that bordered a lake and a forest. A castle stood on the lakeshore nearby.

"Nice. But what are we doing here?" Sonic asked.

"We're gonna try to get some info on where to find Lando." Han replied.

They walked over to the castle and went inside. Sonic was sorely tempted to go for a run through the forest but decided not to risk getting lost while on such an important mission. Han went straight to the counter.

"Ah, Han! I see you haven't managed to get yourself killed yet."

An alien that looked much like a small grandmother smiled at Han from behind the counter.

"Maz! How ya been?"

"Now if I know you, you're either here to get drunk or you want something from me."

Han cut to the chase. "I'm looking for Lando, do you have any idea where I might find him?"

"Are you two fighting again?"

"He stole something from me, and I need it back." Han explained.

Maz glanced at Sonic. "Who's your new friend there?"

Sonic extended a hand to her. "Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog. Pleased to meet ya!"

Maz adjusted the googles she was wearing and peered closely at Sonic. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone like you around here before. Where are you from?"

"Oh, an entirely different plane of existence." Sonic said flippantly.

"Hmmm, interesting."

"Do you know where we can find Lando or not?" Greedo interrupted.

"Last I heard from him, he was working on some kind of deal on Bespin."

"Well, it's something. Let's go." Han started leading them back towards the exit.

As Sonic reached the doors, he was suddenly tackled by a fast-moving metal object. Sonic looked up into the face of…

"Metal!? What are you doing here? Also, why are you a different color?"

"I am not Metal!" The hedgehog-shaped robot snapped. "I am Spike!"

Sonic blinked, then snorted with laughter. "Really? That's your name?"

Spike gripped Sonic's throat and started squeezing. Sonic kicked the robot off of him and followed up with a spindash. Han whipped out his blaster and shot at Spike. The blasts had no effect and the robot ignored him in favor of attacking Sonic.

"Whoa! Whoa!" A new voice shouted. "Spike, what have I told you about strangling random strangers?"

Spike made a harsh sighing noise. "It's bad for business." He let go of Sonic and sulkily walked over to an alien dressed like a pirate.

Sonic stared disbelievingly. "Metal, you take orders from this guy now? What happened to Eggman?"

"I do not know what you are talking about. And my name is Spike!"

The alien cleared his throat. "I apologize for my companion. He tends to… lash out at things. Especially things that are colored blue for some reason."

"Where did you get this robot?" Sonic asked.

"From the Black Spire Outpost."

"And he has no memory of who built him or why he hates the color blue?" Sonic questioned.

"Not since I wiped his memory." The alien grinned jovially.

"Well, it's been a pleasure meeting you, so I'm just gonna go." Sonic turned to leave, and hurriedly jumped to the side to avoid the laser Spike fired from his chest.

"Spike! What did we just discuss?"

"I don't know why, but something about him fills me with the desire to kill."

"Can't imagine why." Sonic muttered and dashed out the door.

"You know, there is something familiar about him." The pirate stroked his chin with a metal hand. "But I just can't put my finger on it."

Han and Greedo caught up with Sonic outside the Ghost.

"Did you know that guy?" Han asked.

"Ehh… sorta?" Sonic shrugged. "But as long as he doesn't remember me, he shouldn't be a problem."

Greedo glared at Han. "You sure you still wanna keep this guy around?"

"The only payment this guy asked for was for help finding the Jedi. Trust me, he's gonna be worth keeping around."

"That's what you said when you tried to adopt a pet Wampa."

"Well this time it's different! Now let's go already."

* * *

Rex sat at his desk in the Coruscant Police HQ, wallowing in boredom. He didn't get to see much action anymore. Now, it was mostly paperwork. He thought back to his days in the Clone Wars and all the insane missions he went on. From scaling a completely vertical cliff, to being poisoned by a deadly virus, to fighting zombie bugs.

Granted, all of these events almost killed him, but somehow, he found dying in an explosion preferable to dying of old age at his desk. But it seemed that was his destiny.

That is, until he got a strange call.

"Sir, we have a situation on level 5000! There a droid with military grade hardware rampaging through the streets! Blasters aren't working!"

"Use droid poppers!" Rex ordered.

"Those aren't working either!"

"Try to lure it towards an unpopulated area."

"We're trying but it seems focused on moving towards the upper levels."

"Hang on, I'm coming!" Rex leapt from his desk and raced for his speeder. A selfish part of him was excited at getting back into the action.

Rex arrived at level 5017. Following the sounds of explosions and blaster fire, he found the droid they were talking about.

It was a big, heavily armored droid painted red and black. As he watched, it fired missiles from its arms and blew up a police barricade. Rex studied it, looking for any kind of weakness he could exploit. The only one he could see was its eyes.

Rex pulled out his blaster, aimed carefully, and fired. The droid jerked as its eye exploded. Its remaining eye focused on Rex. Its arms changed to machine guns and sent a hail of bullets at Rex. He dived behind a pile of metal boxes for cover.

The droid simply continued moving forward. It soon came upon a large speeder. It paused, considered the vehicle, then climbed aboard and drove it away. The droid was heading upwards faster now.

Rex ran back to his own speeder and took off in pursuit. He followed the droid all the way to the top level. Rex's eyes widened when he saw where it was going.

He snatched up his comm. "Come in, Cody! Come in! There's an incredibly dangerous droid headed directly for home!"

"Thanks for the heads up. I'll get everyone organized."

Cody put down the comm and went to round up some fighters. It had been twenty years since any of them had seen any real action, and they were all far older now thanks to their accelerated aging. But they were still the best soldiers in the galaxy. They all lined up at the entrance, blasters ready.

The droid came flying in at full speed.

"Open fire!"

Their blasters did nothing to slow the oncoming droid. The clones were forced to scatter before it crashed into them. The droid rose from the wreckage of the destroyed speeder.

"Where are the Jedi?"


	8. A Quest for Answers

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Padme Skywalker stood in the Senate Hall, wondering if she was ever going to pull the galaxy back together again. After all the events involving Shadow and Palpatine, the Republic and Separatist Alliance had dissolved. There were still several planets that remained close allies with each other, mainly because they were dependent on trade with each other in order to acquire goods they couldn't produce themselves, but aside from that every planet was out for itself.

This naturally brought a lot of problems. The main one being that crime syndicates like the Hutts had far more power than ever before. Luckily, they spent most of their time fighting with their rivals rather than conquering innocent planets. But when their wars had a definitive victor, who knew what would happen?

Padme had been trying her best for years to bring the galaxy back together. Unfortunately, very few people agreed with her. After the Republic and the Separatist governments were exposed as corrupt frauds, no one trusted the idea of a galaxy-wide government. Many planets didn't even send a representative to this meeting she was holding. And the ones that did show up each brought a small army of body guards and mainly yelled at each other.

After twenty years with no progress, Padme was about ready to quit. The galaxy would only unite together if it wanted to, and it clearly did not.

Her mouth snapped shut on the speech she had giving on autopilot when the alarms suddenly started to blare. The representatives started shrieking about a terrorist attack and accusing each other of orchestrating it.

_That's it._ Padme thought. _I'm done._

"Attention! There is a dangerous droid on the loose!" A voice announced over the intercom.

The Hall began to empty out as everyone bolted for their ships. Padme sighed and thought it best that she do the same. She paused as her personal comm went off and realized that it was a call from Cody.

"What's happening?" She asked.

"So you heard about that droid that's on a rampage? It wants to talk to you."

Padme's eyebrows shot up. "Me? What does it want with me?"

"It's not exactly you that it wants. It's interested in General Skywalker."

"Coming."

* * *

_Mission Objective: Find Jedi and save Shadow the hedgehog._

This should have been relatively simple to accomplish. Unfortunately, Omega had ended up on a planet where everyone wanted to shoot him. His sudden appearance had startled a person who was almost certainly under the influence of one substance or another, and they had shot at him. Omega had done as both training and programming dictated and shot back. Unlike Omega, the alien wasn't bullet proof.

Unfortunately, things had only escalated from there. Suddenly there were dozens of people who wanted to shoot him. A very illogical decision, as they had seen the other guy try and fail. Nevertheless, they were very annoying and distracting. But at least one of them had been able to tell him about the Jedi Temple on the top level.

But when Omega got there, he found that there were no Jedi at all! It was instead inhabited by the clone people that Shadow had mentioned in his story. Since Shadow would probably be displeased if Omega shot them, the robot tried communicating instead.

"So… you're a friend of Shadow's?"

"Affirmative."

"And you say he's been… possessed?"

"Affirmative."

"Can we really trust this guy?" Another clone whispered to the one that had been speaking to Omega.

"Lying is a skill I have yet to master."

They weren't entirely convinced by Omega's story but bringing it to the Jedi didn't seem like that bad of an idea. If nothing else, Lightsabers would probably work better than blasters had. The only problem was, they hadn't been in contact with the Jedi in a very long time. But they did know where at least one of them was.

Padme came in, accompanied by Rex. "So, you know Shadow?"

"Affirmative. He requires immediate assistance from the Jedi."

"He claims that Shadow has been 'possessed' by Sidious." Cody said.

"Sidious is dead." Padme stated. "Shadow never mentioned having a friend like you."

"Unsurprising. Shadow doesn't speak much to begin with. He wouldn't have mentioned me unless it was relevant."

"That does sound like the Shadow I know." Rex commented.

"I'm still not convinced." Padme said suspiciously.

"Observe." Omega activated a holographic display. "Here is a picture of Team Dark after we destroyed one of Eggman's fortresses."

The picture included Omega, Shadow, and a third person Padme didn't know. They were standing atop a pile of wreaked mechanical parts with smoking ruins in the background. The winged one was giving Shadow bunny ears and he was giving her an unamused look.

"…Okay then." Padme conceded. "But that would mean Sidious is alive after all!"

Omega shut off the display. "Affirmative. This is why it is critical that I find the Jedi. And I have been told that you know one."

"Well, he doesn't consider himself a Jedi anymore, but yes I know one. Shadow would have told you about him."

"The Jedi identified as Anakin Skywalker?"

Padme sighed. "Yeah, he's not gonna be happy to hear this."

* * *

"YOU'RE TELLING ME HE'S ALIVE!?"

Tails cautiously lifted his ears back off his head. "Um… yes?"

"WHERE IS HE? WHAT IS HE DOING?"

"That's part of the problem. I don't know. Everyone who went through the portal would have been randomly scattered across the galaxy just like the Emeralds were. He could have shown up anywhere. I can't even be certain he showed up in same point in time as I did. It looks like a lot more time has passed you than it has for us." Tails explained. "But whatever he's doing, he's going to come after the Chaos Emeralds."

Anakin took a few deep breaths. "Okay. Okay." He shoved the Emerald into Tails's hands. "Take this and leave the planet immediately. Luke find your sister and tell her to put the entire city on lockdown immediately."

"Hold on, I still need to find the Jedi!" Tails protested.

"R2!"

One of the astromechs rolled forward with a concerned beep and bumped against Anakin's legs.

Anakin pointed at Tails. "Take him to Lothal." He then quickly marched over to another ship.

"Dad, where are you going?"

"I'm going to get your mother, now go find your sister!"

Anakin jumped into the ship and zoomed right out of the hanger. The familiar sound of a sonic boom punched Tails's ears as the small ship accelerated away.

"What just happened?" Luke exclaimed. "Why did my dad never tell me he's a Jedi? Why is he so terrified? And how does he know Shadow?"

"Your dad really didn't tell you much, did he?"

Luke sat down heavily. "He just told me he was born on Tatooine before he eventually moved to Naboo where he met my mom. They got married and they lived here ever since." He groaned. "Why didn't he tell me?"

Tails put his hand on Luke's shoulder. "Well, based on what Rouge told me, it wasn't a happy story."

"Tell me."

"Your father was a Jedi. The only Jedi Shadow kind of respected. Shadow saw the clone army as slavery and Anakin agreed with him. Freeing them interfered with the plans of Sidious, so he kidnapped your mother so he could force your dad to do all sorts of terrible things. But then with Shadow's help, he was supposedly able to kill Sidious. But apparently, he's still alive in Shadow's head. My guess is that he didn't want you to know about the terrible things they went through."

"He still could have at least told me that he was a Jedi."

"I'm afraid I don't have the whole story." Tails confessed.

R2 nudged Tails towards a ship that had just been readied.

"He's saying it's time to go." Luke translated.

"Why don't you come with me?" Tails asked suddenly.

"You want me to come?"

"You said you wanted to be a Jedi, and I'm sure they can answer more questions about your dad."

"But I can't just leave!"

"What's stopping you?"

Luke paused to think. "Okay, but I'm gonna need a minute to explain this to Leia."

* * *

Leia sat alone in the dinning hall, wondering just what was taking her father and brother so long. She had about finished eating when Luke finally came in.

"You're not gonna believe this! Our dad is a Jedi!"

She looked at him strangely. So, Luke explained everything he had just learned. She continued to look at him strangely.

"So let me get this straight. Our father was a Jedi, who knew the legendary Shadow the hedgehog, and now you want to run off and look for the Jedi."

"I just… don't know who our dad is anymore. And this is the only way I'm gonna find out what really happened."

"That's a crazy plan! Get on a ship with a stranger when there's supposedly a maniac on the loose? Do you have any idea how mad dad will be?"

"Dad's been lying to us our whole lives! Doesn't that make you mad? Don't you want to know what really happened?"

"I will ask him when he gets back." Leia said in her queen voice.

"And you expect him to be honest?" Luke shouted. "If he was ever going to tell us what happened, he would have told us a long time ago!"

"Well I'm not letting you leave. I'm putting the hanger on lockdown effective immediately." Leia stood and went to inform the head of security.

Luke growled, now in a bad mood. "Why won't she…!"

"We'd better hurry." Tails said.

"Huh?"

"Well, you still want to come, don't you?"

"Well of course, but…"

"Then let's get out of here before they have the chance to lock everything down."

The two took off running down the hall.


	9. Dark Side 101

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Ezra groaned and swatted at his alarm clock. He dragged himself out of bed and went to the kitchen where his parents were making breakfast.

"Good morning!" His mom greeted him.

Ezra grabbed a bowl of blue milk and cereal.

"So what is Master Yoda gonna teach you today?" His dad asked.

"I don't know, he didn't tell me. He just said he needed to meditate on something."

Ezra had been studying the Force with the Jedi for seven years now. He had learned how to move objects with his mind, see things around him without using his eyes, how to influence other minds, and his personal favorite, how to wield a lightsaber. Though Master Yoda told him he was merely scratching the surface of what the Force could do.

Ezra finished his cereal, grabbed his lightsaber, and left for the Jedi Temple. He hopped on his speeder and drove out of town and across the grasslands. Ezra was rather fortunate that the Jedi had chosen to set up their new temple on his home planet of Lothal. If they hadn't, he would have had to leave his parents behind while he went to train with them.

Suddenly, everything around him faded to black. He couldn't see anything; he couldn't feel anything. But he could hear laughter.

"Who's there?" Ezra called out.

He saw a shape take form in the empty void. It got closer, and closer, until Ezra could finally make out what it was.

It was… himself.

Ezra clumsily pulled the speeder over, gulping deep breaths as he tried to calm his racing heart. The other Jedi had described having visions, but they hadn't mentioned how terrifying they could be. They did say that when they experienced a vision, it meant the Force was trying to tell them something. They also mentioned that such visions were extremely vague and open to interpretation. But what exactly was he supposed to interpret from this? Did he secretly have a twin brother somewhere? Maybe Master Yoda could help him decipher it.

Ezra arrived at the Temple and went inside. The Temple had been carved out of a natural rock formation. He went straight to Master Yoda's chambers. He was so eager to tell Yoda about the vision that he forgot to knock and found Yoda floating in the middle of the room, meditating.

Yoda opened his eyes. "Not polite to barge into other people's rooms, it is."

"Sorry Master, but I had a vision!"

"Mmm. And see, what did you?"

"I saw me! But I was really scary somehow!"

"Unusual, that is."

"I know. I was hoping you could tell me what it means."

"Know what it means, I do not. For you to interpret, that is."

Ezra sighed. "That's not helpful."

"Its true meaning, revealed in time, it will be. For now, time to begin the next step of your training, it is. Come, follow me you will."

Yoda hobbled out of the room and Ezra followed.

"What's the next lesson?"

"A lesson from me, it is not."

"That isn't what I asked."

Yoda ignored him. He led Ezra to a room with multiple doorways leading out of it.

"Wait here, you will."

Yoda went back the way they came, leaving Ezra alone.

He looked around. "Is this gonna be another of those weird patience tests? Do I have to guess which door to go through?"

Ezra's pondering was interrupted by a strange feeling. He felt… cold. Ezra wasn't alone. Something was here. Something dark and evil.

He ignited his lightsaber. "I know you're there! Come on out!"

And it did. A dark cloaked figure emerged from the shadows. "Hello, Ezra. I've been waiting for you."

Ezra sprang forward with lightsaber extended and… And then he was frozen in place in midair.

"Well now, that wasn't very nice." The figure removed its hood.

"Master Petro!"

"Yes, it's me."

"The heck! What are you doing! I almost killed you!"

Petro smiled. "Trust me, you were not even close to killing me." He let Ezra down.

"Are you going to explain what the lesson is now?"

Petro became serious. "Ezra, it's time for you to study the Dark Side."

Ezra's eyes widened. "The Dark Side? Really? When do we start?"

"We already have. You just failed your first test."

Ezra blinked. "Huh?"

"When you felt my dark aura, your first instinct was to draw your weapon and attack me."

"But- But you were acting all creepy!" Ezra sputtered.

"All I did was say 'hi' and that I'd been waiting for you. Which I was." Petro pointed out.

"Yeah, well…"

"Your first lesson in the Dark Side, is to learn not to fear it. There are plenty of real things to be afraid of without inventing fears." Petro took Ezra outside. "The Dark Side of the Force is driven by passion. The stronger your passion the stronger your power. Tell me Ezra, what are you passionate about? What drives you?"

Ezra answered without hesitation. "My family. I want to be a good son for my parents."

"And you would do anything to protect them, right?"

"Of course."

Petro pointed to a massive rock. "See that rock there? I want you to lift it."

Ezra had lifted rocks before, but they were fist-sized stones. This rock was bigger than a bantha. He tried to lift it… and failed.

"I can't, it's too heavy."

"Do it again. This time use your emotions. Use your passion to lift that rock."

Ezra tried again, channeling his love for his parents into his efforts, imagining that the rock was about to crush them, and it was up him to stop it.

The bolder quivered, and them it moved. Slowly, it rose into the air.

"I… I did it." Ezra gasped. "This is amazing! Why didn't Master Yoda just teach me this from the beginning?"

"Because Mast Yoda was teaching you to use the Light Side of the Force."

"What's the point in studying the Light Side if the Dark Side is so much better?"

"The Dark Side is not 'better'." Petro admonished. "The Light Side is equally as important. The Dark Side focuses on strength and power. The Light Side focuses on knowledge and wisdom. Together, they form a balance. If one focuses only on the Light Side, they will achieve enlightenment but lack the strength to make use of it. If one focuses only on the Dark Side, they will become vastly powerful but without the wisdom to use it properly, you can easily become corrupted. You would become very dangerous to those around you. And to yourself."

"To myself?" Ezra asked.

"The path of the Dark Side can be very self-destructive."

"I thought you said I wasn't supposed to fear the Dark Side. That sounds pretty scary."

"That's what the old Jedi Order thought as well. And it was the reason why they always failed."

Ezra crinkled his brow. "Always failed?"

"For over a thousand generations, The Jedi have fought the Sith. Back in those days, the Jedi only studied the Light Side of the Force and rejected the Dark as inherently evil. The Sith on the other hand, studied only the Dark and considered the Light to be weak and useless. These two groups collided with each other in battle after battle, war after war, each one trying to destroy the other. Yet every single time, both sides failed. No matter how hard they tried, the Jedi could never destroy the Dark. And the Sith could never snuff out the light. And do you know why?"

Ezra knew the answer. "Because both sides were unbalanced."

Petro nodded. "Exactly. They both failed to understand the true nature of the Force. Neither side could succeed because the Force simply would not allow it. This is why it is imperative to master both sides of the Force, because if we don't, the war between the Jedi and the Sith will continue until the end of time."

Ezra sat in awe. "Wow… that is a lot of responsibility."

Petro smiled. "If you have more questions about how things were in the past, ask Yoda. He was there for a lot of it."

"I see you haven't forgotten what I taught you then."

Ezra and Petro turned toward the new voice. When Petro saw who it was, he couldn't believe it.

"Shadow!?"


	10. Hello, Old Friend

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

"Shadow!" Petro ran forward and scooped the hedgehog into his arms. "You're here! You're here!"

"I thought I'd come back, make sure things were still in order." Shadow was hugging Petro back, which Petro thought was odd, but he was too happy about seeing Shadow again to worry about it.

"Um… what's going on?" Ezra asked.

"Oh right! Shadow, I'd like you to meet my Padawan, Ezra Bridger. Ezra, this is Shadow the hedgehog. The one who made the galaxy what it is today."

Ezra held up his hands. "Wait. That's _the_ Shadow the hedgehog from the legends?"

There were many tales about Shadow the mysterious hedgehog. Hero, villain, savior, destroyer, it depended who you asked, but everyone agreed that there had never been anyone like him before.

"How have you been?" Petro asked.

Shadow nodded amiably. "Been good. Eggman's no longer a problem so things have been quiet. What have you been up to?"

Petro went into various stories about the adventures he'd had over the last two decades. From exploring ancient, forgotten temples, to recovering lost artifacts, to preventing the Intergalactic Banking Clan from completely collapsing.

"Sounds like you've been busy. But what about everyone else?" Shadow questioned gently.

"Well we've actually had Zatt take over the Banking Clan because we're not sure who else can be trusted. Katooni's keeping the Trade Federation in check. They a history of doing questionable things. Gungi joined the Bounty Hunters Guild. A lot of innocent people end up with bounties on their head just because some rich jerk doesn't like them. He accepts that kind of job and then helps those people survive. Of course, when a person does deserve it, then he gets them. Genodi has been exploring and making new discoveries, traveling to each and every corner of the galaxy. Byph really surprised us with how powerful he ended up being. Back in the day, he was always kind of a wuss. But man, when he started studying the Dark Side and converted that fear into power, he almost collapsed the entire temple!"

Shadow blinked in astonishment. "Sounds impressive. What's he doing now?"

"Well, due to his immense power, we gave him the most dangerous job we had. He spies on all the various crime syndicates in the galaxy."

Shadow's ears pricked forward. "Really? All of them?"

"Yeah. It was pretty difficult back in the beginning, but since then all lot of the smaller groups have absorbed or destroyed. Now it's just the Hutts and the Black Sun."

"Even so, Byph is only one person. How is he spying on two groups at once?"

Petro grinned. "He hacked into Jabba's personal protocol droid and is able to listen in on important meetings."

"And what has he learned?"

"Well, according to the latest report he sent back, Jabba's been meeting with an advisor. Don't really know who he is yet, but he's been feeding Jabba information on the best way to concur the Black Sun. It seems like he's trying to create some kind of army."

"Hmm… interesting. Anyone else?"

"I'm afraid not. It's incredibly difficult to find new students these days, especially with everyone being so busy. The only reason we were able to find Ezra here was because this was his home planet. But we did find someone else. Come on, I'll introduce you."

Petro led the small group back towards the temple. Ezra couldn't seem to stop staring at Shadow. How many of the stories were true? Shadow for his part, ignored Ezra. He seemed to be asking a few too many questions, more than an old friend should ask.

They reached the entrance to the temple, where a man was sitting cross-legged by the door.

"This is Chirrut Imwe, our Temple Guardian."

Chirrut regarded the group with blind eyes. "Hello, nice to meet you."

"Hello." Shadow replied.

Petro had been expecting some sort of sarcastic remark about how their Temple Guardian was a blind man with a stick, but it didn't come. _Well, it has been a long time. Maybe Shadow's mellowed out a bit?_

Shadow, however seemed disinterested in him. "What about Master Yoda, is he still around?"

Petro smiled. "Yeah, come on!"

He took them inside the temple. They went to his chambers, where Yoda had resumed hovering above the floor.

"Master, you'll never believe who's here!" Petro shouted excitedly.

Yoda opened his eyes and looked at them. His gaze narrowed and he frowned.

"Master Yoda, it's been a while." Shadow greeted, and that set off an alarm in Petro's head because Shadow never called him master…

Yoda descended back to the floor. "Yes, a long time it has been… Lord Sidious."

"What? No, it couldn't be! That's impossible!" Petro sputtered.

Shadidious also had a surprised look on his face. How could he have been discovered so quickly?

A hint of a smirk played at Yoda's lips. "Not too old to learn new tricks, I am. Blinded, I am no longer. See you clearly, I do."

Ezra pulled out his lightsaber and pointed it at the hedgehog. "I knew you were asking too many questions!" The various legends he had heard about Shadow were very mixed and polarizing, but the legends he had heard about Sidious were very clear about what kind of person he was.

Petro could only stare in frozen horror.

Shadidious scowled. "It doesn't matter. I've already obtained the information I needed from you. Your destruction is inevitable." He then pulled out the red Chaos Emerald and disappeared in a flash.

"Sidious is- Shadow is-" Petro broke off with a sob.

Ezra was shocked by Petro's tears. "What's going on?"

Yoda stepped forward and gently patted Petro's knee. "Mourning, he is. Gone, his friend is."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"Taken Shadow's body, Sidious has. Killed Shadow, he did."

* * *

Shadidious appeared in the ship he had waiting in orbit. He immediately activated the long-range transmitter and a hologram of Jabba appeared. He gave a hand signal that translated to 'Destroy the droid.'

Jabba swung his tail and a loud crash could be heard.

"The Jedi have been spying on you. We're going to need to accelerate the plan. I'll transmit the locations where the Jedi can be found. There aren't many."

As he cut the transmission, Sidious felt Shadow struggling. He sighed.

"_You'd think after five years, you would have learned that struggling is futile by now."_

_ "I won't let you do this!" _

_ "Really, and how's that? What are you going to do? You have been reduced to an insignificant speck in the back of your own mind. And as brave as you act, I know exactly how much you're hurting, how I terrify you. I've made progress these past five years, even if there is still some way to go. As far as you're concerned, I have all the time in the world. Now if you don't mind, I need to get back to eliminating your friends."_

Sidious pushed him back down again and jumped into hyperspace.

Shadow was furious. He clung tightly to the anger. It was a life preserver in a sea of fear and pain and trauma. He had gathered many mental scars over his life, and Sidious had delighted in ripping them open all over again. Sidious had also dreamed up nightmare sequences to create new ones. By feeding sensory information to Shadow's consciousness, he could make it seem like Shadow was actually living through whatever horrific experiences Sidious could imagine.

Shadow had to remind himself again that the visions weren't real, no matter what it felt like at the time. Sidious was truly a master of torture.

Except for today. Today, Sidious had made a critical mistake. He allowed Shadow to see Petro that day. Let him see how he had grown. Let him see how much the Jedi Order had changed for the better. How much stronger and wiser they had become. That moment where Yoda had called Sidious out had filled Shadow with vindictive satisfaction. And the fact that Sidious had chosen to retreat instead of killing them meant that Sidious was afraid.

Yes, Sidious had made the biggest mistake a torturer could make.

He gave his victim hope.


	11. Suspicious

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Rouge stirred and blinked groggily. Having not gotten any sleep since Shadow, or rather Sidious, had broken Eggman out of jail had caught up with her. Being shocked into unconsciousness didn't really count.

"Enjoy your nap, sleeping beauty?"

"Are we there yet?" She asked grumpily.

"Almost, we just need to make a quick stop first." Lando replied.

"Stop? We don't have time for stops!" Rouge protested.

"This is an important stop. And it won't take long I promise."

The ship descended towards a gas giant and landed on a city floating in its clouds.

"Now you ladies wait here. I'll be back." Lando waved goodbye and left the Falcon with the money they recently stole.

"So, what is this important stop anyway?" Rouge asked.

"Paying the bills." L3 answered.

Lando entered his office, only to find four Madalorian warriors standing in there.

"Um, excuse me, what are you doing in my office?"

"It's not your office anymore."

Lando indignantly put his hands on his hips. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"This mining operation has been signed over to us."

"I didn't approve of that! You can't just take this place from me!"

"We already have." The warrior knocked Lando out before he could protest any more. "Take him down to a holding cell."

* * *

"There's the Falcon. Lando will be in Cloud City somewhere. And he'll have that gem with him." Han said.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Sonic asked.

"Simple, we land, you pop out, find Lando, punch him in his smug, stupid face, take the gemstone, and then we leave!"

"That's barely even a plan. I like it! But how do I know when I find him?"

"The guy stands out like a sore, overly dressed thumb. Trust me, you'll know him when you see him."

Sonic nodded. "Okay, got it!" And zoomed away.

"Wait! You forgot the tracker!" Han called, but Sonic was already too far away. "Oh, whatever. He'll still find him eventually."

Just then, a communication arrived. "It's the boss." Greedo said.

"What does he want now?" Han groaned.

Greedo answered and Jabba's image appeared.

"We're kind of busy getting that gem you want. What is it?" Han sassed, which caused Greedo to quietly facepalm. It was as if Han wanted everyone he met to have a reason to kill him.

Jabba pressed a button and a second hologram of Sonic appeared. He made a bunch of grunts that translated to, "Recognized this creature? My men claim they saw it boarding your ship."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Kill it."

"Why? He's helping us."

"Fools! He's after the Emerald for himself!"

"Damnit, Han! I told you so!" Greedo shouted.

Han remembered how uncomfortable Sonic was with stealing until he had described exactly _what_ they were stealing.

He sighed, feeling dumb. "Alright, we'll go get him."

* * *

"What is taking so long?" Rouge grumbled.

L3 would've normally ignored this type of complaint, but it was a good point. Lando was taking far longer than expected. In these kinds of situations there were only two possibilities: 1. He found a pretty girl to flirt with or 2. He was in trouble. And there weren't a lot of pretty girls on mining colonies so…

"Come on, let's go find him."

No sooner did they leave the ship than a blue streak suddenly raced by.

"Did you see that too, or is processer malfunctioning?"

Then the blue streak came back. "Hey it's that ship! Rouge, is that you?"

Rouge blinked. "Sonic? What are you doing here?"

"I assume the same thing you're doing." He said, glancing at the Chaos Emerald in her hands. Rouge unconsciously clutched it tighter.

"You know this guy?" L3 asked.

"I'm Sonic! Fastest Thing Alive and Adventurer Extraordinaire!"

L3 ignored the boasting and got on to practical matters. "Have you seen Lando? He's been gone for an unusually long amount of time."

"Funny story, he's the guy I came here looking for too. He's got a Chaos Emerald I need to reclaim. But it looks like Rouge beat me to it."

"Actually, I've had this the whole time." She hadn't let go of the Emerald since recovering it from Canto Bight. "Why would you think… Were you in the ship that was shooting at us?"

Sonic looked confused, then sheepish. "Um… maybe?"

"You're working with Han Solo?" L3 accused.

"Well… kinda." Sonic admitted. "You see, I needed transportation and he was the only one willing to give me a ride. Once I had got the Emerald and had taken me to where the Jedi were, I was planning on ditching him."

L3 looked at Rouge. "Do you really trust this guy?"

"Definitely. Despite what that story sounds like, he's one of those heroic goody-two shoes types."

"Are you willing to help us find Lando?" L3 asked. "We think he might be in trouble."

"Sure, no problem! Wait here a second." And then he was gone.

Sonic ran about knocking on doors.

"Hello! Anyone named Lando in there?"

Eventually, one of the doors did open. But the person who answered did not match the description Han gave of Lando. It was a person in black armor.

"Sorry, wrong door. My mistake." Sonic turned to leave-

"Hold on a second!" The man in the armor took a closer look at him. "Would your name be Sonic the hedgehog?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm…" Sonic paused. How would this guy know his name? Sure, he made a big public appearance on that desert planet, but he hadn't mentioned his name. "I'm… not. My name is Maurice."

The armored man pulled out a blaster and pointed it at him. "How about you come with me?" Before he knew it, he was on his back, groaning in pain.

Sonic sat on his chest. "So, wanna tell me how you know my name? And while you're at it tell me yours. It's only polite to introduce yourself, after all."

The armored man activated the flamethrower on his wrist and forced Sonic off of him. The speedy hedgehog easily kept clear of the flames until the flamethrower ran out of juice. Then he flung himself at the man's chest and knocked him down again.

"Let's try this again. How do you know my name?"

"I'm not telling you anything. You might as well just kill me right now."

"Nope. Not my style. How about you just take a nap instead?" Sonic knocked him unconscious and walked out of the room to find Han and Greedo.

"Hey guys, I haven't found this Lando guy yet. But don't worry, I'm getting close." Sonic then notice that they both had their blasters drawn and pointed at him.

"Uh…" Sonic's first thought was that they heard his conversation with Rouge but _how_ could they have heard that?

They shot at him but came nowhere near hitting him.

"Guys come on! Can we talk about this?"

Greedo was getting increasingly frustrated, and eventually dove at Sonic with a yell. Sonic sidestepped and he crashed face-first into the wall.

"Look, I really don't have time for this so why don't we agree to meet and work this all out later, okay? Bye!" Sonic bolted from the scene.

Han groaned. "This is gonna be a pain. Come on, Greedo, let's go."

But Greedo didn't get up.

Han nudged him and realized Greedo was unconscious. "Ugh, and you think I'm the idiot."

Sonic eventually found a room that looked like a prison. Inside one of the cells was a rather fashionable looking man with a sparkly cape.

"Would you be Lando Calrissian?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Well his friends seem to think he's in danger so I'm here to save him."

Lando smiled. "Well, much appreciated."

Sonic went over to the control panel and hit buttons until the door opened. "So, what were you doing in jail?"

"It's those Mandalorians. They took over the whole place."

"Would they be the people who wear black armor and have no manners?"

"Yeah. Them."

"So, what do they want with this place?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know, but I've heard rumors about them "buying" a lot of territory across the galaxy. Whatever it is they're up to, it must be big."

Sonic shrugged. "We can talk about that later, let's get you out of here."

They went outside and found Han waiting for them.

"Have you been with him the whole time?" Han accused.

"No. Just now."

Han moved his glare to Lando. "Not that you deserved this warning, but he's just after the Emerald for himself."

"I've got bigger problems than some rock! If that's what you're here for, I'm afraid I don't have it."

"Then who does?" Han demanded.

"Look man, those Emeralds don't belong to you. I need them to save my friend." Sonic explained. "Now you could try shooting at me again, but I think we both know you're gonna miss."

Han shot at him anyway. Sonic simply ran over to him and took the blaster away. Lando followed up by punching Han in the face.

He stumbled backward… and fell off the edge.

Sonic raced forward and grabbed his foot. "I've got you!"

Han looked at him, confused. "Whose side are you on?"

"What, I can't save your life just because?"

"I tried to kill you!"

"True, but you had the courtesy to fail."

Sonic pulled Han back to safety.

"Are you some kind of nut!?" Han shouted.

"According to all my friends, yes. But I also know a halfway decent person when I see him. And you don't seem like the kind guy who deserves to plummet to his death."

"As amusing as this is, can we go now?" Lando interrupted.

Sonic and Lando departed, leaving Han thinking, _Yeah, that guy's a nut._


	12. Getting to Know you

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Anakin sat in his ship, whishing lightspeed was even faster. He startled when his comm received a transmission.

He hit the button. "Whatever it is, I don't have time for it!"

"Anakin, we have a serious emergency."

It relieved him slightly to see that Padme was still okay. "I have an emergency too. Where are you?"

"Listen, Palpatine is back!"

Anakin stared in astonishment. "You know?"

"One of Shadow's friends showed up looking for the Jedi." She explained.

"Yeah, something like that happened to me too. Tell them they need to go to Lothal. You sit tight, I'm coming to get you."

"I'll be waiting for you in the Clone Temple. Love you."

"Love you too." Anakin replied and cut the transmission.

As soon as he did, another call arrived, this time from Leia.

"Dad, Luke stole a starfighter and left the planet."

"HE DID WHAT!?"

"He decided to go with that strange alien he met today."

"WHAT DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING!?"

"Apparently, he felt betrayed because you never told him about being a Jedi, and now he feels like he has to seek answers elsewhere."

"I'll get him after I pick up Padme. Just keep the palace on lockdown until I get there."

Having been watching her dad's face twist in various expressions of panic, shock, and anger, Leia felt compelled to ask, "Dad, what's going on?"

"Nothing to need to be concerned about."

Leia rose a skeptical brow. "If it's nothing, then I guess I don't need to lockdown the palace after all."

Anakin gritted his teeth but confessed. "Palpatine is alive."

"Palpatine. As in the old Sith Lord? AKA Darth Sidious?"

"Yes, and he's stolen Shadow's body."

"The legendary Shadow the hedgehog? The one who saved/terrorized the galaxy?"

"Yes, and until I kill him, no one is safe. Especially you."

"Why?" Leia demanded, now as eager for answers as Luke.

"Because me and Palpatine have… history."

"What kind history?"

That was farther than Anakin wanted to go. "It's not important! Just lock down the palace!" And ended the transmission.

* * *

"You need to go to Lothal." Padme said.

"Excellent. And where are Lothal's coordinates?" Omega asked.

Rex stepped forward. "I'll take you there myself."

"Then let us depart immediately."

Rex volunteered to do this for two reasons. Number one, this droid was still technically a dangerous criminal who should not be allowed to wander alone. Two, because if he didn't, he would have to go back to his office and file a mountain of paperwork concerning today's incident.

They boarded a small transport shuttle and took off. Once Rex set the coordinates, things rapidly became awkward, with the hulking droid standing silently in the back of the ship, still with one busted eye, and the remaining eye just staring at him…

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"So… um, how did you meet Shadow?" Rex finally asked.

"I was created to guard him while he was trapped in suspended animation."

"Oh, um… that sounds uh…"

"It was terrible and boring! I should have been out on the battlefield, laying waste to all of the empire's enemies!"

Rex blinked. "Empire?"

"The Eggman Empire."

"As in Doctor Eggman, the fat, bald guy with a moustache?"

"That is him. His orders were illogical, therefore serving him was illogical, therefore I left him and now seek to destroy him. So, Shadow, Rouge, and I teamed up to kill him. And we've been hunting him ever since. How did you meet you Shadow?"

"Well, I'm gonna be honest. My first impressions of him were not… the best. He seemed like an anarchist. And when my brothers were talking about how great Shadow was and evil the Jedi were, I'd thought they'd all gone insane."

"But they were not insane." Omega stated, as if Rex needed reminding. "They had simply been freed from the brainwashing of their control chips."

"Yeah, but I'd already had my control chip removed and it still didn't make sense to me. How could they turn their backs on the Republic so quickly? But then when I thought about it more, it wasn't removing the control chip that made them abandon the Republic, it was the knowledge of what the chip was for. It told them that their loyalty was a lie. And back in the day, loyalty was literally the only thing we had."

"Leaving rebellion as the only logical course of action." Omega concluded.

"I guess it was." Rex agreed.

* * *

Meanwhile, on another ship en route to Lothal…

"So, why did you help me?" Luke asked.

"Well, you wanted to go to Lothal to see the Jedi, right?"

"Well… yes."

"Then that's all the reason I need. Sonic always says you don't need a reason to help out a friend." Tails said, smiling brightly.

"Who's Sonic?"

"He's my best friend! He also traveled to this galaxy with us, but I don't know where he ended up."

"Wait, how many of you guys came over?"

"Um, let's see…" Tails began counting on his fingers. "There's me, Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge, Omega, Shadow who's been possessed, and Eggman."

"Wait, Eggman? The evil scientist?"

"Yep. Sidious also kinda kidnapped him."

"Isn't he the same guy who built the largest weapon in galactic history?"

"Yeah, that would be him." Tails confirmed.

"The legends I heard about Doctor Eggman described him as being an almost godlike master of technology."

Tails found this hilarious. "This universe considers Eggman a god? Listen, I deal with his technology all time and it's far from godlike."

"Largest. Weapon. In galactic history! In only a month!"

"Building a superweapon with the Chaos Emeralds isn't that hard. He probably borrowed a lot of elements from the Eclipse Canon. And it's not like this is the first time either." Tails explained matter-of-factly.

Luke could only stare. "So, is everyone in your galaxy able to do stuff like that?"

"Well, no. Me and Eggman are the only one's alive right now."

"Are you sure you aren't gods?"

"Quite sure. Hey, I think we're here!"

Sure enough, the ship dropped out of hyperspace. R2 beeped at them.

"R2 says we're here." Luke translated.

They landed the ship and got out.

"So, where are the Jedi at?" Tails asked.

"How would I know? I've never been here before."

They both turned to R2. "Beep?"

Luke sighed. "He doesn't know either."

"Someone around here must know. Let's start asking." Tails started walking into town. He approached the first stranger he saw and asked, "Do you know where the Jedi are?"

"Oh no. I don't want anything to do with the Jedi. I've seen what those things can do."

Luke looked somewhat offended. "Excuse me, what do mean by 'things'? The Jedi are heroes!"

"They're slowly taking over the whole galaxy. They've taken control of the bank, they have spies watching all of the big businesses, they come and go as they please and answer to nobody! Back in my day, Jedi were civilized! They were organized, they followed the rules, and knew how to stay out of other people's business! And now they act they're above everything and everyone because of their weird supernatural powers!"

Luke had gone red in the face and was ready to continue arguing, but Tails nudged him and whispered, "He's not worth it. We've got more important things to do."

They walked away from the ranting old man and kept walking until he was far behind them.

"Let's find someone else. Someone less… crabby." Tails suggested.

They went around and asked some more people, but nobody had any useful answers.

"Okay, who should we ask next?" Tails asked.

Luke scanned around. "What about that guy with the big droid?"

Tails looked. "Omega!" He ran over to the robot, grinning happily.

Rex blinked at Tails. "You… know this droid?"

"This lifeform is known as Tails." Omega answered. "He is my repairman."

"Aw, Omega, what happened to your eye?"

Omega pointed at Rex.

"Omega, what did you do?" Tails asked exasperatedly.

"He went on a violent rampage through Coruscant." Rex explained.

"I was shot at first. I simply defended myself."

Tails sighed. "Even in self-defense, there is such a thing as too far, Omega."

"So, you guys are looking for the Jedi too?" Luke asked.

"Affirmative." Omega answered.

"Do you have any idea where they are? Because we don't."

"We don't exactly know." Rex replied. "But I know someone who might."


	13. Operation: Knightfall

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Gungi entered the Bounty Hunter's Guild HQ. He dragged his capture across the floor, a murderer, wanted in two star systems and thus, someone Gungi could actually profit off of. He preferred these kinds of jobs for multiple reasons. It was easier to bring someone in than help them get away and it made the galaxy safer to actually put bad people away instead of just deny them what they want.

As Gungi turned in his capture, he noticed Bossk in the corner, staring at him. Gungi and Bossk had been bitter rivals ever since he joined the guild. They gave each other dirty looks every time they saw each other, but this time was a bit different. This look was more… smug.

Gunig wondered what prank he had come up with this time. Last time, Bossk had sabotaged his ship. Gungi had got him back by breaking the heater in Bossk's ship. Not enough to kill him, but enough to make interplanetary travel very unpleasant for a cold-blooded lizard.

It wasn't that they didn't _want_ to kill each other, it was that it was against the rules of the Bounty Hunter's Guild. If one of them turned up mysteriously dead, fingers would immediately point to the other. For now, pranks and petty insults were the best they could do.

Gungi kept a sharp eye out and a tight grip on his credits as he made his way back to his ship. He got into his ship and began to fly away. Mere minutes after takeoff, Bossk's ship began shooting at him. This surprised the wookie. Bossk had to know he would get in trouble for such a blatant attack on a fellow bounty hunter.

There was no time to think about it. The shields, already weakened from the fight with the murderer, were failing. Gungi ran for the escape pod and launched himself back towards the planet. His escape pod crashed into a building. Luckily, no one was home at the time. Bossk's ship hovered over the building.

Bossk himself dropped down, spraying blaster fire. Gungi ducked for cover behind a couch. He roared a question at the lizard.

"It may be against the rules, but once I collect the bounty on you, I'll be all set for retirement!"

Somebody must have realized that Gungi was helping people get away. He growled and ignited his lightsaber. Bossk met Gungi's charge with a dioxious grenade. The poision gas burned Gungi's nose and throat. But he had to ignore the pain and defend himself because Bossk started shooting again. A shot hit his shoulder, making him drop his lightsaber. Two more hit his leg, causing it to fold under him.

He fell on his side. Bossk put away his blaster and slowly walked up to the downed wookie. He pulled out a knife.

"Your pelt is going to look great on my wall."

* * *

Zatt was in his office, looking over financial reports. He got a call from the head of security.

"We have a security breach. An unidentified ship has entered our restricted airspace."

"Have you tried contacting them?"

"We have but we've gotten no response. They're headed straight for your tower."

Zatt looked out the window and saw the ship approaching. "Shoot it down."

Security forces around the bank fired at the ship, but it remained on course. Zatt, realizing what was going to happen, ran for the door.

The ship crashed into his office with a great screeching of metal.

Zatt peeked back inside. A droid climbed out of the wreckage. It was an assassin droid known as IG-88. Zatt ignited his lightsaber and sprang for the droid. It fired its blaster. Zatt extended his hand and absorbed the blasts. He threw his lightsaber, quickly decapitating the droid. It fell to the ground.

Zatt brought the head over to him with the Force. The eyes continued to glow and stare at him.

"Who sent you here?" Zatt demanded.

The droid did not respond, but that was to be expected. A quick hack into its memory files would yield all he wanted to know.

Zatt began to leave the office again when sensed something was… off. He heard a clanking noise. Zatt turned around to see the droid's headless body rise up again and aim its blaster. He shot it with Force lightning. It collapsed once again.

"Nice try but you'll have to be sneakier than that."

Then the droid's head exploded.

* * *

Katooni was on her way to a meeting. These meetings with the Trade Federation were always long and boring but she needed to be there to make sure they didn't do anything shady. It was days like this that Katooni wished she could have been the bounty hunter.

She arrived at the meeting room and paused to mentally prepare herself (and maybe procrastinate a little). Then Katooni opened the door and found all the Trade Federation leaders tied up on the floor.

Aurra Sing stood there with her rifle pointed at the door. Katooni immediately dived to the floor and just dodged the first shoot. She ignited her lightsaber as she returned to her feet and blocked the second. Aurra tossed the rife aside and brought out two pistols instead.

"Who sent you?" Katooni demanded.

"Sorry. Client confidentiality and all that." Aurra began firing with the pistols.

Katooni blocked and tried to move in closer, but Aurra kept her distance. Katooni used the Force to yank the weapons away and destroyed them with her lightsaber. Aurra tried to make a run for it but Katooni Force Pushed her against the wall.

"I will ask you again. Who sent you?"

"You're smart. Figure it out."

"Fine then. We'll do this the hard way."

Katooni entered Aurra's mind. Unlike Sidious, she tried to keep the process as painless as possible. But she would not be denied. After searching through Aurra's memories, Katooni found that the answer was Jabba the Hutt. Not really the biggest surprise in the world. But as she examined the memory more closely, she saw that Jabba also picked out several other bounty hunters to go after her friends. He wasn't just trying to get rid of her, he was trying to get rid of the Jedi. But- _uuuahhhh!_

Katooni opened her eyes. She felt an immense stinging pain in her stomach. She looked down and saw a knife blade that had been hidden in Aurra's boot penetrating her guts.

Aurra stood back up, rubbing her head. "So now you know. It's a shame you'll bleed out before you can tell anyone."

* * *

Byph sneakily entered Jabba's Palace. The protocol droid he had hacked into had stopped transmitting. It could just be that Jabba had broken it in a tantrum, he wouldn't think much of having to replace it. He may have even decided to torture it, just for fun. Either way, he would most likely have to place a new spy device somewhere.

He headed to Jabba's throne room to find it concernedly empty. This could only mean one of two things. Either Jabba found someone he wanted to sacrifice to the sarlacc pit or…

All the lights in the palace suddenly went out.

It was a trap.

Byph ignited his lightsaber and stood ready. He closed his eyes and listened carefully. He felt the presence of four people slowly closing in on him. Boushh took the first shot. Byph froze both the shot and the bounty hunter in place. Dengar popped out of hiding and sprayed blaster fire. As Byph was blocking, Embo threw his shield helmet at him.

Byph ducked, and the shield hit Dengar in the face. He lay on the ground, holding his face and groaning. Zuckuss jumped out with a flamethrower. Byph created a Force Barrier to protect himself from the fire. Boushh was still frozen in place.

Embo threw a knife at Byph's back. He threw his lightsaber and it cut down the knife before continuing on to stab Embo. Dengar got back up, blood oozing out of his nose. He pulled out a grenade and threw it at Byph.

The Jedi used his power to redirect its path, so it landed at Zuckuss's feet before it exploded. Dengar, after seeing Zuckuss's body parts paint the wall, decided to give up and run. He didn't make it far before he was struck in the back with Force Lightning.

Byph turned his attention back to Boushh, who was still frozen. He pulled the bounty hunter closer, positioned him in front of the still-frozen blaster shot, and let go.

As the last one fell over dead, Byph heard clapping. The lights came back on.

Shadow was sitting on Jabba's throne, applauding.

To say that Byph was confused would be an understatement.

"A beautiful performance indeed. I can see that Petro was not exaggerating your power. You will serve me well."

Byph was even more confused. He did not remember Shadow talking like this.

"I'm sure you're confused. Not to worry. It'll all make sense in time."

In the blink of an eye, Shadow raced over to Byph and knocked him out with a swift kick.

* * *

Ganodi was sitting in her ship, calculating her next hyperspace jump. Her emergency distress signal started beeping. She answered the call and a hologram of Petro appeared.

"Petro, what's going on?"

"We have a serious emergency. Everyone's in danger. I've tried contacting the others, but none of them are answering my calls. Return to the temple and don't stop for anything!"

"What's happening?"

"I don't have time to explain. I'm still trying to wrap my own head around it. Just meet me back at the temple." Petro ended the transmission.

Genodi reset her coordinates and jumped to hyperspace.


	14. A Meeting with the Governor

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Rex, Omega, Tails, and Luke entered city hall. The receptionist was an old battle droid.

Rex approached him. "We need to see Kalani. It's important."

"I'm afraid Governor Kalani is in a very important meeting right now. You're going to have to wait."

Rex tried again. "This is something that affects the fate of the galaxy."

"Lots of things affect the fate of the galaxy. Governor Kalani is in the middle of one of those things right now."

"We do not have time for this." Omega proceeded to walk right past the desk.

"Hey! Get back here!" The droid yelled in protest.

Omega ignored him and began opening random doors, looking for the governor.

The droid pulled out a blaster from under his desk and pointed it at Omega. "I'm warning you! You don't want to mess with a battle droid!"

Omega paused and scrutinized the scrawny droid. "You… are a battle droid?"

"That's right. I'm unit RO-GR. You can call me Roger."

"…You are what this galaxy considers a battle droid?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Roger demanded, taking offence to Omega's tone.

"You look like a worthless consumer model."

While the organics present tried their best not to burst out laughing, Roger let out a scandalized gasp.

"Oh- oh yeah? Well this is the model that won the Clone Wars! What do you think about that?"

"Well actually, you only won because the clones abandoned the Republic." Rex felt the need to point out.

"Technicality! And we would have won anyway!"

"Didn't you get replaced immediately afterward?" Omega asked.

"Yep. They sure did." Rex answered while Roger sputtered.

"W-w-well, we defeated them too!"

"No you didn't, they were shut down by the younglings." Rex corrected.

"What about that heroic charge we made on Raxus? You guys never would have gotten past the minefield if hadn't we cleared it for you!"

"So the one great thing you did was blow yourselves up." Omega surmised.

"We've done plenty of great things! In fact," Roger pulled out a data pad. "I have a journal cataloguing all the great battles I've been in!"

Rex rolled his eyes. "Oh, here we go."

Roger began to read. "Chapter 1: The Battle of Naboo. There I was, marching into my very first battle. Those Gungans didn't stand a chance. And then I… got hit with an energy ball and was deactivated. Um… okay that one doesn't really count. That was before the Clone Wars even started."

Tails started rolling his eyes too. "Come on, Luke. Let's go find the governor ourselves."

* * *

"The odds of Sidious returning were less than one percent. How did this happen?" Kalani asked.

"It doesn't matter how." Petro answered. "The real question is how do we stop him?"

"If Sidious has revealed himself to you, that means he is prepared for any action you may take."

"It's a pretty safe bet that he wants to kill all of us and take over the galaxy."

"But with no galactic government, conquering the galaxy will be difficult. He would only be able to take over one planet at a time. Once others see what he is doing, they will resist."

"Stop him, it will not." Yoda reminded them. "Warn the rest of the galaxy, we must."

"I calculate only an 11.6% chance of significant numbers believing you. The galaxy has lost much respect for you in recent years."

"Well, we have to do _something_." Petro pressed.

"To understand Sidious's plan, know what it is, we must."

"I agree. Our focus should be on gathering data so we can prepare a proper counterattack."

"Where are we even supposed to start?" Petro asked.

The door behind them opened. The three of them turned to see a small yellow creature with two tails and a young human man.

"Excuse me, are you Governor Kalani?" The yellow creature asked.

"I am, but I don't have time for whatever your small problem is. Roger should not have allowed you back here."

"Darth Sidious is back from the dead!" Luke blurted.

"And he possessed Shadow!" Tails added.

There was an awkward silence.

Petro stood up and walked over to them. "How do you know about that?"

"I come from the same place Shadow does." Tails said. "A close friend of Shadow's is here too. He's busy harassing your secretary. We came here looking for the Jedi."

"Found us, you have."

Luke blinked in sudden realization. "Are you… Grandmaster Yoda?"

"Indeed I am."

"I'm… Luke Skywalker."

Yoda and Petro exchanged a glance. "A pleasure to meet you, it is."

"I was hoping you could tell me a few things about my father."

Yoda twitched. He exchanged another glance with Petro.

"Couldn't you just ask him?" Petro inquired.

"Apparently not, since he's been hiding the fact that he's a Jedi from me my whole life."

"He's not a Jedi anymore. He left the Order." Petro corrected.

"Well why didn't he tell me and why is he so against me becoming one?"

"I… don't think it's our place to tell you." Petro finally said.

"But that's the whole reason I came here!"

"Shall we resume discussing our real concern?" Kalani drew their attention.

Tails nodded. "He's right. We need to find Sidious and figure out what he's up to. But first we should get Rex and Omega involved in this conversation."

* * *

"…And that's the day I learned to never stand within arm's reach of Grievous."

"I like Grievous's style." Omega opined.

Rex went back to being wary of Omega.

Kalani's voice came over the intercom. "Roger, send them to my office."

"The Governor will see you now. His office is down the hall to the right."

They went to the office and introductions were made.

"Wherever Shadow is in the galaxy, he's going to be looking for these." Tails held up the Chaos Emerald.

"The Chaos Emeralds! Of course!" Petro exclaimed, remembering his adventures with Shadow. Sidious had wanted them to power his superweapon. He would undoubtedly want to find them all again.

"The Master Emerald is somewhere around here too." Tails continued.

"There's a Master Emerald?" Petro asked.

"Yes. It's more powerful and it can control the other Emeralds. Finding it is even more important."

"Then that will be our first order of business." Kalani declared. "For now, I have a vault we can keep the Chaos Emeralds in."

"If we're going to do this, the quickest way to cover ground would be to split up." Tails proposed.

"But we only have the one Chaos tracker." Petro said.

"I have one." Omega held up his tracker.

"Me too." Said Tails, holding up another. "You won't believe how many times we've had to do stuff like this."

"Well then, we better get started." Rex said.

Then a call came in from Roger. "Um, Governor Kalani? We have a problem. That Shadow guy is here."

"What? What is he doing?"

"Glaring at me. Like I'm some kind of idiot. He's actually facepalming right now. I think he's mad I saw through his disguise."

Tails rose a brow. "Disguise?"

"Yeah. He shaved his chest and painted himself blue. Honestly, who do think you're fooling?"

"Wait, that's Sonic!" Tails rushed out the door.

Everyone else followed at a slightly slower pace. And sure enough, standing in front of Roger's desk, impatiently tapping his foot, was Sonic.

"Sonic!" Tails launched himself into his arms.

A grin immediately broke out on his face. "Hey, lil bro!"

Roger could only stare. "I'm confused."

"This isn't Shadow." Rouge snapped in annoyance.

Then Omega caught up. "Rouge! I have found the Jedi!"

"That's great news!" Rouge fluttered over to Omega and gave him a hug. "Look what I found!"

"Excellent. Now we have two Emeralds."

Rouge turned her attention to the two Jedi. "So how do we save Shadow?"

The Jedi, who had been smiling at the reunions, turned grim.

"The way…" Petro began haltingly. "…possession usually works… the soul taking over the body… pushes the original soul… out."

"So, what does that mean?"

Petro had become too emotional to speak, so Yoda answered in his place. "Dead, Shadow is."


	15. The Search Begins

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Rouge felt herself die on the inside. She wilted, falling to her knees and staring blankly ahead as she tried to process the storm of emotions. Did she even believe he was dead this time? Rouge didn't know anymore.

Sonic definitely didn't buy that Shadow was dead. He had come back from the dead too many times already.

Tails felt his eyes welling up. He didn't know much about the Force, but the Jedi did, and they seemed certain that Shadow was gone. He buried his face against Sonic's chest for comfort.

Then a voice spoke, smaller and more plaintive than anyone had ever heard before. "Shadow is… nonfunctional?"

Petro nodded.

Omega's eye glowed bright red. "New mission: Destroy Sidious. Where is he?"

"We don't know." Petro said.

"Then I will go find someone who does."

Lando spoke up. "Well, now that that's figured out, I have a problem of my own that I need help with."

Petro glared at him and Yoda said, "What troubles you?"

"The Mandalorians took over Cloud City."

Petro's eyes shot open. "The Mandalorians!"

"Yes, that's what I just said."

"Shadow killed Maul and took the Darksaber."

Sonic rose a questioning brow. "Yeah, so?"

"That means he's the rightful ruler of the Mandalorians!"

"Where do they live?" Omega demanded.

"On Mandalore, where else? We'll take ya. We've got a score to settle with them too." Lando offered.

"Whoa! You can't just go to Mandalore and take them all on!" Petro shouted.

"Why not?" Omega asked.

"The Mandalorians are the deadliest warriors in the entire galaxy. And if they're being led by someone as powerful as Shadow… We can't just charge in there all willy-nilly! We can't go after him until we're prepared. First, we need to find the Emeralds."

Composing himself, Tails offered his own suggestion. "We should split up so we can find them faster. And we still need to find Knuckles."

They split up into pairs. Each pair had an Emerald tracker. Omega would go with Lando, Rouge with Petro, Luke with Rex.

Tails turned to Sonic. "I guess we're together."

"Actually, you both would be better off if you were each paired with someone from this galaxy. There's someone back at the Temple we can pair you with. We'll go pick them up before arranging ships for everybody." Petro said.

They went back to the Temple and met Chirrut and Ezra. Tails decided he would he would go with Chirrut just so he knew that there would be someone who could fly the ship, but to be honest, he wasn't entirely sure about bringing a blind person.

"Are you sure about this?" He whispered to Yoda.

"Yes."

Five ships departed from Lothal.

* * *

"Omega, this is L3. L3, this is Omega."

L3 studied the newcomer critically. "This better not be my replacement."

"Unless your function is to destroy, no."

"We are going to find Chaos Emeralds." Lando explained.

"And kill Sidious. And Eggman, if we find him." Omega added.

"And then get my city back!" Lando finished.

"Kay. Where to first?"

* * *

"So, you knew my dad, right?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. He was my general during the Clone Wars."

"What was he like?"

"Well if you want my opinion, he was the best man in the entire Republic. I've fought countless battles with him. He came up with some of the most insane, reckless, and out of the box strategies that I have ever seen. A lot of other Jedi thought he was nuts. But he had the skills and determination to pull them off."

"So why did he leave?"

Rex shifted uncomfortably "Well, I… never really had a chance to ask him. We… haven't spoken to each other in a long time."

"Why not?"

"Something happened to him."

"What?" Luke asked knowing he was getting close to one of the secrets that had been hidden from him.

"He… betrayed us and joined Sidious."

"WHY?" Luke cried. He hadn't expected that at all.

"Well, Padme had been taken hostage and I guess he chose her over the rest of us."

"…Oh."

An awkward silence descended over the ship as they continued journeying through space.

* * *

Sonic was bored again. "Ugh, how can anyone stand to travel this way? Doesn't this ship have a radio or something?"

"Can't receive radio signals while traveling faster than those signals can move." Ezra answered.

"What is anyone actually supposed to do while they're traveling?"

"Usually we occupy ourselves with reading or playing games."

"Okay, what games ya got?"

"Well, none. Kind of forgot to pack them before we left."

Sonic groaned dramatically.

"As for reading, we have the flight manual."

"Who do you think I am, Eggman?"

"Actually, I don't know anything about you at all. Maybe you could tell me?" Ezra asked.

"Sounds better than anything else. Ask away."

"You knew Shadow, right? What was he like?"

"Oh him? Only the biggest grump you ever met. And I've met some big grumps."

"Some people here said he was a hero. Others say he was an insane terrorist."

"He's both. Depends on his mood."

"Sounds like a difficult guy to be friends with."

"Oh, you have no idea!" Sonic said empathically. "But you know, despite being a huge jerk and overly violent, and constantly in denial whenever he needs help, I think his heart is mostly in the right place."

"He managed to make a lot of enemies though. Especially the Wookies." Ezra mentioned

"What'd he do to them?"

"Stories mention forest burning and child abusing. But according to Petro, it was an android that was burning the forest."

"And the child abuse?"

"Well that part was made up. But still, several Wookies are still hunting him to this very day."

"Yeah, Shadow has that kind of effect on people. Most people back home hate him too. Especially that time he tried to crash a huge space station into the planet and the time he got involved in an alien invasion."

Ezra stared. "You're going to explain more, right?"

"Well, what actually happened was this…"

* * *

Anakin landed on Lothal. Steeling himself, he went to the Temple.

"Luke!"

"Here, he is not."

Anakin angrily marched towards the voice and found Yoda sitting in an empty room.

"Where's my son?"

"Went to search for Chaos Emeralds, he did. With Rex, he is."

Anakin felt slightly better knowing that Luke was in the hands of someone capable. On the other hand, he felt a sense of impending doom regarding the very awkward conversation he was going to have with Rex.

"Don't you know that-"

"Sidious is back? Yes."

"He's going to be looking for those Emeralds too! If Sidious finds him, he will kill him!"

"Willing to take that risk, he is."

"That's because he has no idea what he's getting himself into!" Anakin shouted.

Yoda still sat on the floor, appearing totally serene. "Wishes to become a Jedi, he does."

"Well he's not going to!"

Yoda let out a sigh. "Still controlled by fear, you are. Trust your son, you must."

"Just tell me where he is."

"Anywhere, he could be."

Anakin growled in frustration. "Do you at least know where Sidious is?"

"Believe him to be on Mandalore, we do."

Anakin quickly turned around and began to walk away.

"Come back, you still can."

Anakin paused. "No, I can't." he kept walking.


	16. Collateral Damage

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Chirrut and Tails arrived at a planet. The Chaos detector went off.

"There's an Emerald here!" Tails exclaimed.

They landed on the moon covered in green forests.

"The natives here are known to be very unfriendly." Chirrut warned. "It is best we find that Emerald quickly."

Tails began to search around with his scanner. "Looks like it's… that way."

He was about to walk in that direction when Chirrut stopped him.

"What?"

"You were about to walk into a booby-trap."

He reached out with his stick and tripped a hidden wire. A large boulder fell out of the trees.

"Okay, now it is safe."

Chirrut lead the way while a dumbfounded Tails followed.

* * *

The Millennium Falcon landed on Takodona.

"The tracker does not detect an Emerald. What are we doing here?" Omega irritably demanded.

"I'm going to talk to someone who might be able to help us. You two can wait here."

"Fine." L3 said.

"I'm going with you." Omega declared.

"This is not going to require your… skill set."

Omega ignored him and exited the ship. Lando could only follow. He was a bit worried about what the droid would do. Omega had spent the trip over quietly exuding an aura of menace and rage.

"Just… don't break anything, okay?"

They entered the castle on the lake. Lando pasted a bright smile on his face. "Maz! How ya doing?"

Maz looked up at him. "I heard you got into some trouble with Han again."

"Yeah, I ran into him. But he's not why I'm here. I'm looking for something special."

"Does this 'something special' have anything to do with your new droid?" Maz asked, shrewdly looking over Omega.

"Have you heard anything about people finding mysterious gemstones that just appear out of thin air?"

"Appearing out of thin air you say?"

"Where are the Chaos Emeralds?" Omega demanded, growing impatient with dancing around the subject.

"Um… my friend is very eager to find them, so we appreciate any information you have to offer."

"Well I haven't heard anything about gemstones appearing out of thin air, but I have heard about… people appearing out of thin air. Like a mysterious blue creature coming out of nowhere and winning a pod race on foot or a strange yellow creature appearing in the middle of the road in Theed."

"Your information is worthless! We already know these things!" Omega shouted.

"Hey, buddy, why don't you ask around and see if anybody else knows anything?" Lando suggested and breathed a sigh of relief when Omega left.

"If he kills anyone, I'm holding you responsible."

"I don't control what he does! Have you heard about any other creatures? Maybe a red one?" Lando tried.

"No red ones. But I did hear about one with wings appearing in Canto Bight. Weren't you there at the time?"

"Oh yeah, we actually broke out of prison together."

"I see you're quite deep into this already. Of course, I figured that out when you walked in with the droid that attacked Coruscant."

"I wasn't a part of that." Lando waved her point off.

Meanwhile, Omega was interrogating a customer at the bar.

"What information do you posses about the location of the Chaos Emeralds?"

"What are you talking about? Get away from me!"

Omega moved to the next person and asked the same question. He got a very similar answer. He moved on again and saw…

"Metal Sonic!"

Spike was engaged in dragging a very drunk Hando out the door when some bullets ricocheted off the side of his head. He turned to see another droid angerly bearing down on him. Spike flung Hando out of harms way and activated his boosters. He rammed into Omega and sent them both crashing through a wall.

Omega fired his rockets. Spike dodged and they destroyed more of the castle.

"I told you not to break anything!" Lando screamed.

"Enemy known as Metal Sonic has been identified. Collateral damage is no longer an issue."

"It is an issue if I'm the one who has to pay for it!"

"The cost will be worth it."

Omega continued shooting until he felt his systems locking up. He couldn't fire his weapons, couldn't move. Some device had been placed on him that prevented him from doing anything.

"Lando! Explain why your droid is blowing up my castle!" Maz seemed three times her actual height in her rage.

"Hey, I don't control what he does!"

"Get him out of here, now! And don't you come back unless it's with the money to pay for this!"

Hando stumbled onto the scene. "Spike… how many times… do I have to… tell you… not to fight… unless I tell you."

With that, he unceremoniously collapsed.

Maz looked over at Spike. "And you get him out of here before he pukes on the floor again."

Spike picked Hando up and then froze. His eyes dimmed and went completely dark. After a moment, they lit up again. Spike dropped Hando.

"The Doctor needs me."

He activated his booster and flew through the ceiling.

Maz groaned. "You're paying for that too."

"Whoa, whoa! That one's clearly on him!"

"He is escaping! We must pursue!" Omega seethed in frustration.

"Actually, we don't! Why did you even attack him in the first place?" Lando demanded.

"That is one of Eggman's robots. And he is returning to his master."

* * *

"…and so I defeated the God of Darkness and put the world back together. But my new friend had to go to sleep for the next million years so that was a bummer."

Ezra stared. "Okay, are you just making stuff up now?"

"Nope, that all really happened. Well, except for the bit about the ghosts."

An alarm went off.

"What's that?"

"We're receiving a distress signal." Ezra answered. "It looks like it's coming from the planet Alderaan."

They changed course and flew towards the signal's source. When they arrived, Sonic checked the Emerald tracker. There were no Emeralds here, but that was a secondary consideration. Someone was in trouble.

They descended and found a large city in ruins.

"I've never been here before, but I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to look like that."

Sonic's tone was light, but Ezra could sense the concern behind it. They landed the ship and explored the wreckage.

There were bodies. Everywhere.

''No." Ezra moaned. "No, no!"

"Hello?" Sonic called. "Is anyone still here?"

"Help!"

Sonic dashed towards the sound and found a human with no legs. Ezra came up a few seconds later.

"A lightsaber did that. Who attacked you?"

The man only made some pained noises in response.

"Sonic, there's a first aid kit in the ship. It's-"

But Sonic was already back with the kit.

They patched up the man as much as they could and gave him a chance to calm down.

"It's okay. You're safe now." They reassured him.

"No! No one's safe!"

"Why?" Sonic asked.

"He's back."

"Who's back? Who did this?" Ezra questioned.

"General Grievous!"

"Who's that?" Sonic whispered.

"He was a Separatist general that terrorized the galaxy during the Clone Wars. He was killed by the legendary Anakin Skywalker."

"Well if he's dead, then how could he have attacked this place?"

Ezra turned back to the injured man. "What exactly, did you see?"

The man's gaze grew distant and glassy. "Everything was normal. But then all these ships just… came out of nowhere. They bombed the city. And then he came. He was so fast. It was like he was everywhere. He cut off my legs! He killed everyone! He's going to kill everyone everywhere!" His words dissolved into wailing as he broke down completely.

"What do we do now?" Sonic asked. "We can't just leave him like this."

"Let's take him back to Lothal. We'll see what Master Yoda has to say about this."


	17. Me and my Shadow

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Rouge sat hugging her legs, ears drooped low. Petro could feel her anguish and was trying to think of some way to relieve it.

"So… um… how did you meet him?"

Rouge jerked out of her daze. "What?"

"Shadow. How did you meet him?"

Her gaze returned to the window. "I work for a military organization call the Guardian Units of Nations, or G.U.N. They are a corrupt organization. They were willing to ignore my… illegal hobbies in exchange for my services. For one mission, they wanted me to spy on Eggman because he apparently stole some top-secret superweapon. They wanted me to gather information and if possible, recover the weapon. Turns out that weapon was Shadow. They stressed to me that while it might look like a person and even act like one, it wasn't. But the more time I spent with Shadow, the more I realized that was wrong. But at the time, I didn't really care."

Petro felt a hot flash of anger. "What do you mean you didn't care? Were you... actually prepared to turn him back over to people who mistreated him?"

Rouge shook her head. "That was never my goal. I only wanted one thing, or rather, seven things."

"The Chaos Emeralds." Petro realized.

"I used to be a very selfish person. I thought I was entitled to all the gems in the world just because I wanted them. I was going to take all the Emeralds for myself and let Shadow and Eggman take the blame for them going missing."

"Well obviously you care about Shadow now, so what happened?"

"I like to think I'm pretty good at reading people. When I first met Shadow, I thought I knew exactly who he was. Bitter, angry, not concerned with anyone besides himself. Relentlessly pursuing his goal, not caring who he had to kill in the process. But then something happened while we were stealing the Emeralds. I got trapped inside the vault and Shadow had planted a bomb that was going to destroy the entire base. I called Eggman for help, but he didn't care. He said it would be easier to just dig the Emeralds out of the rubble. I thought that was it. I was going to be left to die. Then Shadow swooped in at the last moment. He claimed that he only came for the Emeralds, but I didn't buy it. He risked getting blown up himself. The safer option would have been to do what Eggman said."

"He cared about you, didn't he? At least a little."

"A little, but not enough to abandon his main goal. He tried to wipe out all of humanity. Turns out, he was gonna betray Eggman too. Shadow was born on a huge space station called Space Colony Ark. The station had a weapon called the Eclipse Cannon that was powerful enough to destroy a planet when it had all seven Emeralds put into it."

"That sounds a lot like the Death Star."

"Yeah, Eggman basically just made an improved version of the Eclipse Cannon. Sonic and his friends managed to sabotage the cannon so that Shadow couldn't use it. But Gerald had come up with a plan B."

"Gerald?"

"Shadow's creator and Eggman's grandfather. When the cannon didn't work, a video of his last words before being executed by G.U.N. was broadcast to the world. In it, he said he wanted revenge on the world for the death of his granddaughter and he implied that he had done something to Shadow to get him to carry out the plan. We don't know what he might have done, or how. Shadow doesn't remember much from his time as G.U.N.'s prisoner and any clues there might have been got destroyed in the explosion I mentioned earlier. But what was important was that the space colony was on a collision course with Mobius.

"The granddaughter, that's… 'her', isn't it?"

Rouge sat up in surprise. "He told you about Maria?"

"Not in so much detail, but yeah. After a lot of convincing."

"He really is getting better." Something resembling a smile crossed Rouge's face before she shook her head and refocused on the story. "Anyway, Shadow wasn't even bothering to fight us anymore. We couldn't stop the Ark and he knew it, though we were trying our best anyway. He just stood staring out the window, waiting to go down with the ship."

"His mission was the only thing that mattered to him." Petro muttered. "Because he didn't have anything else."

"While the rest of us were running around trying to fix things, another friend of ours, Amy, pleaded with him to reconsider. She managed to say just the right thing and got Shadow to remember that he had promised Maria that he would protect the world. As soon as he realized that, he was off like a shot to fix his mistake. Turns out, everything he was doing was for her. The whole reason he was trying to destroy the world was because he thought that was what his promise was. He was just remembering it wrong, which might or might not be because of Gerald."

"So how did he fix things?" Petro asked.

"He and Sonic used the Chaos Emeralds to go Super and used Chaos Control to teleport the Ark back to where it belonged. Oh, and they fought a giant lizard."

"Wait, what?"

Rouge waved him off. "That's not important. What's important is, Shadow fell. He threw everything he had into that Chaos Control. Sonic couldn't save him; he barely had enough energy to get himself back to the Ark. We all thought Shadow had died. I was just… so shocked at what he did. Willing to lay down his life to save people he hated, all because someone he cared about asked him to."

Petro recalled the flurry of emotions he'd felt from Shadow when he'd screamed about how they murdered "her". In addition to the pain and rage, forlorn love had been a strong presence as well.

"But Shadow, of course, didn't die. He was rescued by Eggman. He kept him locked up in one of his bases and performed experiments on him. I found him a year later. There's more, but I want to hear how you met him, even though I heard the story from Shadow."

Petro summoned his memories and began. "I heard about him before I met him and what I heard was mostly that he was evil. I believed it because we were forced to flee Coruscant or be slaughtered like the other Jedi at the hands of the Separatists. Then he showed up to help us get away. I didn't see him then, but it was him who brought the ships that opened a hole in the blockade. And then I heard what the clones had to say about him. They were singing his praises all the way back to Kamino."

Again, a ghost of a smile crossed Rouge's face.

"I saw him for the first time on Mustafar. The droids had us pinned down when he dropped out of the sky and started massacring them, once again giving us the chance to get away. We reached the ship only to discover that the clones we brought with us were gone. Anakin was saying that we had we had to find them when Grievous attacked. He almost killed Obi-wan, but I stopped him with Force Lightning and made him retreat. Then Padme came in with her ship and I saw Shadow for the second time. He was just… curled up on the floor. He looked so powerful when he was fighting the droids but now he just looked… small."

"He mentioned Grievous hurting him, but it sounds like he was downplaying it." Rouge sighed. "Again."

Petro threw his hands in the air. "I know! He does that all the time! Anyway, when he heard that the clones were missing, and that Anakin had gone after them, he forced himself up and went to go find them. By this point, I had no idea what to make of Shadow. I didn't get much time to think about it though. Obi-wan and Master Yoda were really mad that I'd used Force Lightning, even though it was to do something good. After we got out of there, they locked me up. After a while, Shadow came to get me and that was when I met him properly. I was really surprised to see him and even thought he might be there to kill me, though I'm not entirely sure why, given all that he'd done to help by that point."

"The adults who were supposed to protect you had just betrayed you." Rouge pointed out. "It's only natural that you would be feeling paranoid."

"Shadow agreed with you about the adults. He freed me and then went to go chew them out. He managed to bring them to a compromise where I would be allowed to roam, but with a babysitter. That's when Shadow decided to take me under his wing. He taught me how to use the Dark Side for good. He said he did it because I reminded him of himself and he didn't want to see me turn out like he did."

The Emerald detector went off with a beep, drawing their attention to the planet before them.

"That's… Tatooine!"

Petro lowered the ship and followed the tracker's signal across the open desert. When the signal was at its strongest, he landed the ship so they could search on foot.

The ship landed next to an old wreck and a hole in the ground. A hole lined with teeth. And tentacles.

They looked at the scanner. They looked at the hole. They looked at the scanner. They looked at the hole.

"The Emerald's inside of that hole, isn't it?" Rouge asked.

"KRIIIIIFFFFFFFFF!"

"I'll take that eardrum busting noise as a yes."

"That's a Sarlacc Pit." Petro groaned.

"And that means?"

"The only way to get that Emerald out is for one of us to get eaten by that thing."

Rouge shrugged and stretched her wings. "No problem."

She flew towards the pit and the tentacles swiped at her. Rouge folded her wings and dove into the open mouth.

Petro plopped down on the sand and hoped this wasn't the last time he would ever see her. He glanced over at the wreaked ship and stood up in a rush when he recognized it. This was something that needed investigating.


	18. The Man in the Pit

**Sorry it's been a while. Work's been cutting into my writing time and I'm also head over heels for Steven Universe. I will also be starting an online class soon and that may affect things as well.**

**Happy New Year y'all.**

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Rouge gagged on the smell of rotting meat as she descended into the Sarlacc. There were corpses in varying states of decay lining the walls. They were held in place by more of the fleshy tentacles.

There was no light in the pit. The beaked jaws had shut behind Rouge, cutting off the sunlight. She navigated via echolocation. The bouncing sound waves informed her of another tentacle reaching for her and she swerved to avoid it. The was a pool of liquid below her, acid no doubt.

Rouge paused as she heard a new sound. Rhythmic squishing. It sounded like… someone was walking around down here. The squishy footsteps got closer.

Then Rouge saw a glittering green light. It could only be the Chaos Emerald. It was moving, and the footsteps were coming from the same direction.

Roger sent out a high-pitched call to learn more about this unknown person. She wasn't too worried about being heard. She could barely hear her own calls over the sound of the Sarlacc's hearts thundering in the darkness.

The footsteps stopped. The light moved back and forth. A human, waving the Emerald around to try to see better.

Rouge moved closer, sent out another call, planned her trajectory…

"I know you're watching me!"

Rouge jerked back in surprise, but he wasn't yelling at her. The human turned and began savagely punching one of corpses on the wall.

Clearly this human was deranged, but this distraction afforded Rouged an opportunity to snatch the Emerald, so she went for it. Rouge grabbed the Emerald and began to fly away.

"Light thief!" The man screamed and fired a grappling hook at Rouge.

It tangled around her legs and he reeled her in as she struggled to kick it off. He ripped the Emerald from her grasp and kicked her in the face. Stunned by the blow, Rouge went limp.

She came to her senses at the sound of a knife being sharpened. Rouge tried to move but found that the grapple line was now wrapped around her arms and wings as well. She tried to calculate possible escape routes. All of them required that her wings be free. The only way out was to fly. Rouge wiggled against the rope, but it had no give.

"You're one of them!" The man suddenly spat. "You're working for him!"

"Who's him?" Rouge asked, figuring that her only remaining option was to talk to him.

"He… he wants the Emeralds. It's my job to make sure that he doesn't get them."

"Do you mean Sidious? Because I'm against him too."

"That doesn't matter. You won't be alive for that much longer. Only one of us can survive in here, and it will be me!"

Rouge tried not think about the implications of that statement, combined with what it probably took to survive in here. "Or… we could both escape this place!"

The man broke into hysterical laughter. "Escape? No one ever escapes!"

"I can fly us both out of here if you just untie me." Even in the darkness, Rouge knew he was looking at her suspiciously. "We're on the same side. We both want to keep those Emeralds from falling into the wrong hands."

"It's safer to keep the Emerald down here, away from him."

"He'll still come back for it eventually. He'll just keep sending robot drones until one of them returns with the Emerald." Rouge pointed out.

"They won't as long as I'm here to protect it!"

"And how much longer are you going to be able to live down here?" Rouge challenged. "How long until the lack of sunlight drives you to turn that knife on yourself?"

A pregnant silence told her that the thought had crossed his mind already. "…Fine. But the Emerald stays with me."

He stepped closer, and Rouge saw his face clearly for the first time. "You're… a clone?"

His face twisted in rage. "No, I'm not! I'm not like them!"

"Then you must be… Boba. Shadow told me about you."

"Shadow is gone. He's Sidious now."

"And we need to do something about that."

"Like what?"

"We can use the Emeralds to stop him, but we need all of them." Rouge explained.

"If anyone can stop him, it's the Jedi. I was supposed to warn them. They're probably dead now."

"No, they're not! There's one waiting for us right outside."

"And how do we get outside?"

"I'll fly us out."

Boba took a long look at Rouge's wings. "It won't let you do that. It never lets anyone do that."

"Just trust me, okay?"

He freed her, and they went out to the middle, directly beneath the mouth.

"Now we just need it to open…'

Boba gave a manic grin. "That's the easy part!" He took out his knife and plunged it into a fleshy wall.

The creature screeched in pain. Rouge grabbed Boba's hand and flew upwards as fast as she could. They emerged into the sunlight only to be snatched by a tentacle.

"See! I told you it wouldn't let us!"

"PETRO!" Rouge screamed.

Petro ran up to the edge of the pit and reached out with Force to pull them to safety. But the tentacle refused to let go. The Jedi threw his lightsaber and severed the tentacle, allowing Rouge to at last get away.

They landed safely on the ground away from the pit. Boba had his hands over his eyes.

"Ahhhh!"

"That's Boba?" Petro stared with wide eyes. "How is he still alive?"

"I don't think I want to know. But how did you know it was him?" Rouge questioned.

Petro pointed. "That's what's left of his ship. It looks like he was shot down."

"It must have been Sidious."

"Sidious!" Boba suddenly shouted. "Where is he? Can't let him get the Emerald!"

"He also said he had a message for the Jedi." Rouge said in hopes of distracting Boba.

"The message. The message… He's coming. He's coming and he has a plan!"

"What is his plan?" Petro asked.

"He wants him to create someone. He… Heeeeee… He will pay."

"What are you talking about?" Petro cried in exasperation.

"SIDIOUS!" Boba shouted. "He put me in there! Because I _know_."

Petro sighed. "This is taking too long." He proceeded to touch his fingers to Boba's forehead. The former bounty hunter slumped over, unconscious.

"So, now how do you plan to get answers out of him?" Rouge asked.

"By fixing his brain."

Petro began swirling his hand over the sleeping man's face chanting what sounded like random nonsense. He stated pulling dark clouds from Boba's head while Rouge watched with interest. When Petro was done, he tapped his forehead again and stood back.

A few moments passed, and Boba suddenly sat up straight. "What? Where? Huh?"

"Welcome back to sanity. Now, can you answer our questions?"

"The Emerald! Where is…!" Boba searched himself frantically and relaxed considerably when he found the Emerald still in his possession.

"You said you had a message, what is it?" Petro asked impatiently.

Boba turned serious and stood up. "I have a message from Doctor Eggman."

* * *

_Boba was hanging out in Jabba's Palace. He watched with no small amount of intrigue as Shadow and Eggman walked in. No one had seen either of them for fifteen years. Back then, Shadow was the biggest deal in the entire galaxy and then he just disappeared without a trace. And now all of a sudden, he shows up here. _

_They walked right up to Jabba. _

"_Jabba. I have an… offer for you. Now, you run the biggest criminal empire in the galaxy. But you still have a lot of competition. How would you like to be the only criminal empire in the galaxy?"_

_Jabba's protocol droid translated a question. "What do you want?"_

"_Straight to the point, I see. Very well. I want weapons, resources, secretly delivered to the Mandalorians. I also need you to be able to assassinate certain targets when the time comes._

_Jabba narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You say you'll eliminate my rivals, but it sounds like you want to become one."_

"_Oh no. I will not be a rival, I shall be an ally. The criminal underworld will be yours to rule. The empire I wish to rule is a bit more… legitimate."_

"_Before the Great Jabba the Hutt makes any deals with you, he requires you to destroy the Pikes."_

"_Very well, I will return in four days. Until then, my associate with stay here with you. I recommend keeping a careful watch on him."_

_Shadow then turned and walked away. _

_As soon as he was gone, Eggman started begging. "Save me! He's gonna kill us all!"_

_Jabba motioned for Boba to come over. "The Mighty Jabba asks that you watch his new guest until Shadow returns."_

_And watch him he did. It was the easiest and most boring job he had ever been hired to do. The Doctor just sat at his desk, furiously scribbling down notes, occasionally ripping a page out and tearing it to pieces. It looked like he was trying to come up with some sort of escape plan. But since none of his plans made it off the drawing board, there was nothing for Boba to do. The only form of entertainment he had was watching the Doctor slam his face on the table in frustration. _

_After three and a half days, Boba was so board he barely even paid attention anymore. This apparently caught the Doctor's attention. _

"_You don't want to be here, do you?"_

_Boba tilted his head in Eggman's direction. _

"_Wouldn't you rather do something else? Something exciting?"_

"_I'm here because I was hired to do a job."_

"_But what if I gave you a better job? One that's much more… rewarding?"_

"_You think you can pay me better than Jabba does?" Boba challenged._

"_Well… technically I don't have any money."_

_Boba turned his head away again. "Then we have nothing to talk about."_

"_Listen, have you ever heard of the Darksaber?"_

"_Yeah, what about it?"_

"_I can get it for you."_

_Boba turned to face him again. "You have it?"_

"_Well… no. Sidious does."_

"_Isn't he dead?"_

"_No. He was the one talking to Jabba. Not Shadow."_

"_That doesn't make any sense."_

"_He used some weird Force thing to steal Shadow's body. And now he plans on taking over the galaxy. But I have plan to kill him. And after he's dead, I'll let you keep the Darksaber. _

_Boba thought about this for a minute. "So, you want me to kill him?" _

"_You? No, you'd never beat him. We need the Jedi to kill him. You need to tell them that Sidious has returned. That he's stolen Shadow's body. That he's after the Chaos Emeralds. And speaking of which," Eggman pulled out an Emerald tracker. "There's one on this planet. I need you to find it and keep it away from Sidious at all costs. The more of them he has, the harder he's gonna be to kill. So, after you find the Emerald, warn the Jedi, you come back and rescue me. By that point, I will have discovered more of Sidious's plan and come up with a way to destroy it."_

_Boba was quiet, contemplating the job offer. _

"_Doesn't that sound better than sitting in the corner, staring at me all day?"_


	19. The Unseen

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

"So, how did you end up in the pit?" Rouge asked.

"I went out and found the Emerald, just like the Doctor said. But when I went to leave the planet, I was shot down. And when I got out of the ship, Sidious was waiting for me outside. He said that he knew it was only a matter of time until Eggman convinced someone to go get the Emerald. He told me to hand it over."

"But you didn't, did you?"

"Of course not. I was hired to do a job and I always get the job done. I saw that I was right next to the pit, so I threw the Emerald in. That made him veerrry angry. I tried to use my jetpack to escape, but he hit it with some type of energy blast. Then he dragged me over to the pit and threw me in."

"He didn't come into the pit looking for the Emerald?" Petro questioned.

"Nope. The only people that came into the pit after that were Jabba's sacrifices."

"But Sidious has the ability to teleport now. It wouldn't have been that hard for him to get back out." Rouge mused.

"My guess is, he was waiting for someone else to do it for him." Boba said. "And now that it's out of the pit, somebody's going to come get it. We'd better get moving."

* * *

Tails and Chiurrt continued through the dense forest. So far, all they had found were traps.

"Another trap on your right."

Tails side-stepped to the left and avoided the leaf-covered pit. "Who do you think set all these traps? This place is as bad as Angel Island."

"The natives. They've been following us for the past two hours."

Tails looked around. "Where? I don't see them!"

"They're keeping their distance. They appear to be afraid of you. Another trap on your left."

"Okay, how are you doing that?" Tails demanded. "How are you seeing all these things? Are you even blind?"

"I'm not seeing these things. I'm feeling them through the Force."

"I thought you weren't a Jedi."

"I am not."

"Then what are you?" Tails yelled in frustration.

"A blind man with a stick."

"Then how are you using the Force!? Rouge said that it was something that only the Jedi could use."

"Then your friend was very misinformed. The Force exists in all living things. Everything and everyone is connected to it. My connection to the Force is weaker than a Jedi's but is still there. I listen to it and it guides me."

Tails turned contemplative. "So, you're saying everyone in this universe can do what you do?"

"If they're willing to trust the Force, then yes."

"Huh. That's amazing." It was then that Tails glimpsed movement in the trees and acted on instinct. "Get down!"

He pulled Chiurrt down as arrows began flying. Ewoks jumped out of the trees waving crude wooden spears. Chiurrt fended them off with his staff and Tails lashed out with his tails and fists.

Another wave of arrows drove them away from each other. Tails twirled his tails and flew to gain some distance while a net landed on Chuirrt and trapped him. Tails was forced to flee as more arrows came for him and Chuirrt was dragged away.

Tails flew until he was very lost. He pulled out the tracker to reorient himself only to find an arrow jammed in it. He was alone with no tools to help him. Tails's mind was buzzing. What was he going to do? He could try to find his way back to the ship and call for help, but he didn't know which way to go. And there were probably still more traps out there.

Tails kept to air. He flew for hours without finding anything, until it was too dark to see. He huddled in the branches of a tree.

As Tails sat there, he thought about what Chiurrt had said, how every living thing was connected to the Force. Tails was a living thing. Could he use it? Tails closed his eyes and focused, trying to sense the world around him.

But he felt nothing.

"Well, I suppose it was worth a try." But it made sense that it didn't work. He wasn't even from this universe. How would he be connected to its energy?

But then Tails had another idea. Perhaps he was connected to the energy from his universe. Perhaps his connection to Chaos energy was stronger than he realized. A bit of a long shot, but what were his options?

Tails closed his eyes again. He mentally reached out, searching for… something. This time, he did get a strange feeling. Something was out there, and it was close. Tails moved closer to it…

And fell out of the tree.

He painfully got up and continued moving. He was led to a large bush. But as Tails got closer, he saw that it wasn't a bush. I was a pile of sticks and leaves. He stared pulling them away and a net dropped on him.

As Tails struggled to get out of the net, he saw a figure emerge from behind a tree. He flailed in a wild panic. The figure loomed closer.

"Tails?"

Tails froze. "Knuckles?"

"Oh, thank Chaos! I thought I'd be stuck with these annoying furballs forever!" Knuckles ripped open the net and hugged Tails.

"Knuckles! I'm so glad to see you!" Tails cried.

"I'm so glad to see anybody! I've been stranded here for weeks."

"There's supposed to be an Emerald here. Did you ever find it?" Tails asked.

"Of course, I did!" Knuckles ripped the remaining leaves and sticks away to reveal the Master Emerald. "I always know where the Master Emerald is. Now please tell me you have a way to get us out of here."

"There's a ship, but I don't know where it is. I also came here with a friend, but I don't know where he is either."

"Where did you last see him?'

"We were separated when these guys with spears attacked us."

Knuckles sighed. "Oh. Them. Come on, I know where he is." He picked up the Master Emerald and trudged through the trees.

They came upon a little village. Chiurrt was there, tied to a tree while the little creatures piled wood under him.

Then Knuckles shouted, "HEY!"

The Ewoks stopped what they were doing and backed away. Knuckes went over to Chiurrt and untied him.

"You Tails's friend?"

"I am. And I assume you are as well?"

"Do you know where Tails's ship is?" Knuckles asked bluntly.

"Of course." Chiurrt led the way back to the ship. "Here it is, but we can't leave until we locate the Chaos Emerald."

Knuckles stared at him. "You don't see the giant emerald I'm carrying?"

"Um, Knuckles, he's blind." Tails explained.

"Wait, you're telling me the guy who can navigate a dense forest full of traps can't see a giant glowing emerald!?"

Tails thought for a moment. "…Because it isn't connected to the Force."

Knuckles shook his head. "Whatever, just get us out of here."

* * *

Luke and Rex were still sitting in silence.

Eventually, Luke could not stand the awkwardness any longer and asked, "What do you know about the Jedi?"

"They were incredibly skilled, often reckless, and just one of them could change the course of an entire battle. They were the Republic's greatest defense. At least, most of them were."

"Most of them?" Luke questioned.

"Well, as it turns out, not all of them were as loyal to the Republic as we thought. Some even became full-blown traitors."

"Like my father?" Luke asked sadly.

"No! Like… well… yeah."

The awkward silence returned, now tinged with melancholy. It was broken when the Chaos tracker began beeping.

Luke eagerly grabbed the device, happy for a distraction. "It looks like it's on… that planet right there!"

Rex looked and went pale. "Oh no…"

"What?"

"Why did it have to be here?"

Luke looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about? What's wrong with Umbara?"


	20. Master and Apprentice

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

"Who retrieved the Emerald?" Sidious asked.

"A Jedi and one of the targets. In addition to the Emerald, they also retrieved a person that had somehow survived in there." Came the translation.

"Excellent. Let them leave with the Emerald. I will get it later."

A Mandalorian solider came in. "Sir, a ship has entered this sector."

"What kind of ship?"

"It appears to be a Naboo starfighter, sir. Shall we shoot it down?"

A devilish smile creeped its way across Shadow's face. "No. Let him land. I will deal with him personally."

* * *

Anakin landed on the broken planet of Mandalore. His entire being was focused on one goal:

Kill Sidious. For good this time.

As he approached the palace, he noticed several Mandalorians watching him. They did nothing to stop him, just stared as he walked past. He came to the door where two more were standing guard.

One of them stepped forward and was about to say something but never got to, as Anakin Force Choked him and his companion. He broke their necks and let their lifeless bodies drop to the ground.

Anakin stepped into the palace and approached the throne room where Sidious was waiting.

"You came sooner than I expected."

"How? How are you alive?" Anakin shouted.

"When you have unlimited power, death is nothing more than an inconvenience."

Anakin whipped out his lightsaber. "Then I'll kill you again."

Sidious sneered. "What makes you think you can?"

"The prophecy said that I would be the one to destroy the Sith."

He cackled. "Ah, yes! The famous 'Chosen One' prophecy! Well then, go ahead. Fulfill the prophecy, Chosen One."

Anakin first thought: _This is totally a trap._

"Well? I'm waiting. The galaxy is waiting."

Anakin threw Force Lightning at the hedgehog. It struck the throne the he had been sitting on, but he was gone.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to be much faster than that."

Anakin whipped around to see Sidious standing behind him. He shot more lightning. Again, and again. But each time, Sidious would appear behind him.

"Oh come now, this can't be the best you can do. I trained you better than this."

Anakin Force Choked him. Sidious gasped for air, but still managed a smile.

Sidious used Chaos Blast.

Anakin shielded himself and was thrown back. He struggled to get back up. He could hear Sidious's footsteps as he slowly walked closer.

"You're as strong as ever Lord Vader."

"Don't you dare call me that!"

"It is the name of your true self!"

"I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU!"

"Tell that to Obi-wan."

Anakin leapt up and swung his lightsaber with a scream of rage. But Sidious easily sidestepped him and kicked his legs, sending him to the ground again.

"Everyone thinks you killed him because I 'forced' you to. But that's not true, is it? Everything you did, you did because you chose to. I didn't have to turn you to the dark side, because you had already accepted it. That is why you never returned to the Jedi order. You tried to deny it. You tried to hide from it. But you know. You were always Darth Vader… and you always WILL BE!"

"I HATE YOU!" Anakin screamed.

Sidious grinned cockily. "I know." And he knocked Anakin unconscious.

A couple Mandalorians came in. "We heard an explosion. Are you alright sir?"

"Take our new guest to our special prison. And tell General Grievous to begin his attack on Naboo."

"Anything else sir?"

"Yes. Prepare my ship. I have an errand to run."

* * *

Rex and Luke walked through the dark and creepy jungles of Umbara.

"So… you've been here before?" Luke ventured.

"That was a long time ago. There was a… battle here during the Clone Wars."

"Was my dad here?"

"He was for a short period of time. He was called back to Coruscant early on in the battle."

"Did you win?"

"How about you stop asking me so many questions and tell me how close we are to the Emerald?" Rex snapped.

"It's two clicks that way."

They reached the edge of the woods and found a big road leading in the direction they were headed.

"Oh, we can just walk on this." Luke said already starting to do so when Rex dragged him back into the trees.

"No. We'll continue through the trees."

"Why?"

"There could still be mines out there."

"You really think there's still mines?" Luke asked.

"Even if there aren't, we'd still be completely exposed. We're not risking it."

They continued walking parallel to the road. Eventually, they reached a city surrounded by a tall laser fence. They stood before the fence, looking for a way to get past it, when the Umbarans started shooting at them.

"They spotted us! Find cover!" Rex shouted.

They ran back into the woods and hid behind a large tree.

"What do we do now?" Luke asked.

"I don't know. The capital is too heavily guarded, we'll never be able to sneak in."

Luke looked back at the foreboding structure. "But what if they captured us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we want to get inside and if they captured us, they would take us inside."

"Yeah, then we'd be locked in a cell and unable to go anywhere."

"But then I'll use the Force to get us out." Luke explained.

"But you've had no training. Do you know how to use the Force at all?" Rex asked skeptically.

"I know a few things." Luke replied indignantly. "Watch." He focused on a stone and after a few seconds, it floated up into the air.

"Yeah, okay. But breaking out of a highly advanced prison requires more than being able to lift a few rocks. We should leave here for now and come back with someone a bit more experienced."

But as they turned to do just that, the scouting party of Umbarans that had been sent to find them emerged from the forest and surrounded them.

Rex sighed. "I hope this plan of yours works."

* * *

There were very few things in this galaxy that Lando couldn't handle. This droid, however, was one of those few things.

"When are you going to remove this infernal device?"

"When you stop needlessly blowing everything up!"

"I told you it was necessary!"

This might have been manageable, if L3 didn't keep taking his side.

"Those restraining bolts are completely barbaric. I expected better of you Lando."

"What's barbaric is blowing up an entire castle just to kill one little droid!"

"I didn't blow up the _entire_ castle. Just a small portion of it."

Lando put his hands over his face and groaned. He had to get rid of this droid.

Fortunately, the Emerald tracker went off. Lando quickly checked their location and found they were near Kessel.

Criminal organizations prized the planet for its spice mines. In the recent gang wars, the Hutts had taken the place away from the Pikes.

Garballa the Hutt slithered his way out to meet the Falcon as it landed. He was flanked by two Iktotchi guards.

"Well, if it isn't Lando Calrissian. What brings you to my humble operation?"

"I'm afraid I'm in a bit a tight financial situation."

"Really? What kind of situation?"

"The kind where a group of mercenaries steal your business from you."

"Ah yes, the Deathwatch. They got you too, huh? But why come to me with this problem?"

Lando shrugged. "Well, we've made a lot of business deals in the past and I hoping you would get my operation back."

"You want me to pick a fight with the Mandalorians?"

"I'm willing to pay you a lot to do this. Perhaps enough for you to afford that luxury resort you always talked about?"

"A very generous offer, however…" Garballa grinned smugly. "Money is no longer an issue for me."

"Really? And how's that?"

"Let's just say I came across a little something special."

"Special, huh?" Lando prodded.

"Yes and it's going to make me rich enough to buy two resorts!"

"That's great to hear, but a little advice." Lando motioned for him to come closer. He whispered, "When you have something that rare and valuable, it's best not to let people know that you have it. At least not without some proper protection for it."

"My security force is more than capable of protecting it."

"Sure. But what if your security force are the ones that plan on stealing it?"

"What? They wouldn't dare cross me!"

"Hey, you said this thing could buy you two resorts. That's a looooot of money. Are you sure your guys won't be tempted?"

Garballa thought about this. "You might have a point there. I should probably get some security droids. Droids are always loyal."

Lando grinned. "Well, you're in luck! I just so happen to have a very capable droid with me right now!"


	21. The Rebels

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Three Mandalorian rebels crawled their way through the ventilation.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Sabine Wren asked.

"Of course, it's the right way." Her brother huffed. "I told you I've got the map memorized."

Their mom shushed them. "Quiet. This is a stealth mission, remember?"

"I don't see why we can't just challenge him." Sabine whispered.

"Because no one who challenges him ever wins." Tristan pointed out.

"He's right. Assassination is the only way to get rid of him." Ursa said.

Alarms started screaming.

Tristen swore. "Kriff, they know we're here."

"Now what do we do?" Sabine asked.

"We abort the mission. We'll have to come back another day." Ursa ordered.

They heard a loud crash. Sabine would have asked what that was but before she could even form the question in her mind, something very large smashed its way through the vent. When everything was quiet again except for the blaring of the alarms, Sabine found herself flat on the floor. Picking herself up, she found the rest of her family in a very similar position. She turned around and looked at the massive object that broke through the vent.

It was a ship. Whoever was flying it was either insane or the worst pilot in the entire galaxy. A hatch on the ship opened, and a droid came out.

It was a strange droid. Small and sleek, it seemed to be modeled after the same species as the tyrant currently ruling Mandalore.

She grabbed her blasters and shot it, which had no effect. The droid launched itself forward and Sabine braced for impact, but it shot right past her and down the hallway.

"What the hell was that thing?" Tristan asked.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that we're not the ones who triggered the alarm."

What the droid wanted was unclear, but it did make for a very nice distraction. They climbed into a new vent and found their way to the throne room only to find it empty.

"He's not here." Tristan observed.

"He must be dealing with that droid." Ursa reasoned. "We'll hide and wait for him to come back."

They waited. And waited. And eventually… someone did enter the throne room. Unfortunately, it was not Shadow. It was the droid again. And it was carrying a large piece of carbonite. Upon closer examination, they could see the outline of someone frozen inside.

And then the droid was blown up by a rocket launcher. A pair of Mandalorians in black armor walked in. "See? I told you it would work."

"You're lucky you didn't kill the scientist. Do you have any idea what Shadow would do to us if anything happened to him?"

"Hey if anything bad happens, we'll blame it on Reg. He's supposed to be in charge while Shadow's away."

_Away? So, he wasn't in the palace at all? How long were they going to have to wait here? _

"Let's just move him back to the lab."

The two struggled to pick up the large piece of carbonite. "I don't remember carbonite being this heavy!"

"It isn't. It's him. Probably weighs three hundred pounds."

"Ugh. We're gonna need a turbo-lift for this."

They dropped the carbonite and left. Sabine crept out of her hiding place.

"What are you doing? Get back into your hiding spot!" Ursa ordered.

"Didn't you hear them? This guy's important."

"Our priority is Shadow!"

"Well he isn't here!"

Sabine turned back to the carbonite and hit the "unfreeze" button. A tall, round man with a huge mustache began to emerge from the metal. Once his head was free, he let out a groan.

"What do you want with me this time?"

Sabine slapped her hand over his mouth and held a blaster to his head with her other hand. "Speak quietly or I will end you."

She moved her hand from his mouth. "Fine. Just tell me what you want me to build."

"Who are you? And what makes you so important to Shadow?"

The man paused for a moment. "You don't know me? Who exactly are you?"

"If you don't mind, I'll ask the questions."

The man ignored that statement and asked another question. "Are you not with them?"

"What do you mean?"

"It means I need your help."

"Do you know where Shadow is?" Tristen asked.

"No. He makes sure I know as little as possible. He doesn't even tell me what year it is."

Sabine blinked. "How long have you been frozen?"

"I've frozen and unfrozen about… eight times by now. I not sure how much time passes when I'm frozen, but I can tell it's been some time because the faces of the guards look older than they did before."

"We need to go." Ursa hissed.

The three started to climb back into the vent.

"Wait! Take me with you!"

"I don't think you're going to fit into the vent." Tristen said.

"You can't leave me with them!"

"Actually, we can." Ursa said coldly.

"I can help you! I have a plan!" The man shouted desperately.

"And why should we trust you?"

"These people keep me frozen in carbonite! You think they're my friends?"

"He has a point." Sabine said. "And if he's important to Shadow, then we shouldn't let him keep him."

"Then we'll kill him." Ursa pulled out her blaster.

"Nonono! I'm much more valuable alive!"

The Mandalorians in black armor returned. "Alright, now let's move… this…"

"He's free!"

"Look, there! It's the rebels!"

Each side started shooting at each other. The round man hid behind the throne. There, he found one of the legs from his robot.

"So, you came for me after all."

He snuck over to the black-armored Mandalorians and struck the nearest one in the back of the head. He swung the leg at the second one, but he was able to dodge and struck back with the butt of his weapon. In his distraction, the rebels were able to shoot him.

"May we please escape now?"

"You're still not gonna fit in the vent." Tristen reminded him.

Then Sabine had an idea. "We don't need to go through the vent. They're going to let us walk right out the door."

"Why's that?" Tristen asked.

She smiled and pointed her blaster at Eggman. "Because we have a hostage."


	22. Nightmares of the Past

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Anakin woke up in the dungeon. Every wall in the cell was a deadly ray shield. There was nothing in the cell but Anakin himself. Across from him was another cell. Inside of it was an Ithorian. It was… Byph?

"Byph, where are we? What's going on here?"

So Byph told everything he knew. Most of it, Anakin already knew, but one thing immediately stood out to him.

"He wants _you_ to be his apprentice?" _There's no way Sidious would take more than one apprentice. That would violate the Rule of Two. If he wants Byph to be his apprentice, then what does he want with me?_

* * *

Luke and Rex were in a cell together. Luke was looking for any for any weaknesses in their cell. He found none.

"Just forget it. This Umbaran tech is too advanced."

Rex didn't know how to feel about their current predicament. Sure, they were trapped, but that was surprisingly better than what had happened the last time he came here.

"Don't worry, I'll use the Force to hit the switch that opens the door." Luke closed his eyes and concentrated. He reached out with the Force and felt a button. He pushed, and a cell door opened.

Except it wasn't the one they were in.

"Um, wrong one."

Luke tried again and hit a different button.

This one triggered the alarms.

"You need to work on your aim, kid."

A couple of guards showed up and they looked for the cause of the alarm.

"Maybe instead of hitting buttons, you could use a Jedi mind trick on one of the guards." Rex suggested.

"I've never really gotten those to work before."

"Well, here's your chance to practice."

Luke called one of the guards over. When he approached, Luke stretched out his hand. "You will unlock the cell door and let us escape."

The guard narrowed his eyes and shouted something.

"You will unlock the cell door and let us escape."

The guard turned around and began walking away.

"You will unlock the cell door and let us escape!"

The guard stopped for a moment, turned around, and… a huge explosion sounded in the distance.

The two guards rushed out of the room.

"What did you do?" Rex demanded.

"I don't think that was me."

* * *

Leia and Padme sat down to breakfast in one of the smaller, more private dinning halls.

"So. What's this 'history' dad has with Palpatine?"

Padme did not choke on her meal. She was too professional and experienced for that. She slowly, deliberately, set down her fork and folded her hands. "Well, Palpatine used to be a… mentor of his. And he… tried to drag him down a dark path."

"Dad says none of us are going to be safe until he's dead."

"He's not wrong."

"Why does he refuse to talk about it?"

"There are certain things that your father wants to… forget."

Leia could not be satisfied with such an answer. "What kind of things?"

"Things that you don't need to know about."

Another unsatisfying answer. "If we are in danger because of those things then I think I do need to know."

Padme sighed. She was obviously right. But she didn't quite know how to tell her. Padme opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when the captain of the guard burst into the room.

"My Queen! We are under attack!"

Leia stood up. "By who?"

"We don't know! We've never seen ships like these before!"

Leia reached for her emergency comm and attempted to call Anakin, but he did not answer. Tossing it aside, Leia gave her orders. "Assemble the guard and prepare for battle."

The guards put together a defensive line at the entrance to the palace. Starfighters scrambled in the sky above.

Assassin droids advanced on the palace. There were a dozen IG-RMs. The IG-RMs opened fire.

Padme and Leia fired down on them from one of the palace's high windows. One of the enemy ships landed behind the droids. Padme aimed her blaster at it and waited for someone to emerge. But she instantly froze when she saw who it was.

General Grievous had returned.

Padme fired her weapon and the blast struck Grievous's mask. He looked up toward the window where the blast had come from. Grievous withdrew a blaster and a red lightsaber and began marching towards the palace.

Padme quickly turned to Leia. "We have to go."

* * *

Luke finally found the button that opened their cell. The hallways were empty.

"Whatever that explosion was, it must really have their attention." Rex mused.

They found a storage room where their equipment was being kept. "The Emerald's this way, let's go!" Luke pointed and lead the way.

As they got closer to the Emerald's location, they came across increasing numbers of dead Umbarans.

"Whoever is attacking the Umbarans must be looking for the Emerald too." Luke reasoned.

Rex looked at the wounds of the dead Umbarans. "They weren't killed with blasters. Whoever did this was using a lightsaber." Rex started to wonder if it was a good idea to try to find whoever this was.

They reached an elevator. The scanner told them they needed to head up. They traveled up a few floors and kept going. They could hear Umbarans engaged in battle up ahead. They rounded the corner and there was Grievous butchering Umbaran soldiers with two red lightsabers.

Rex froze in shock. "He can't be here! He was dead! How is this possible? Even if he did somehow survive getting his internal organs squished into paste, his body would been blown up along with Kamino!"

Luke, who was significantly less fazed, saw that the cyborg was holding the Chaos Emerald they were looking for. He reached out with the Force and pulled the Emerald out of Grievous's mechanical grasp.

His head snapped in their direction. Rex and Luke fled in terror. They made it back to the elevator and furiously mashed the button. Grievous came around the corner, crawling on the floor like a giant spider. The door started to close but Grievous grabbed the sides of the door and tried to force it back open.

Luke summoned all the Force power he could muster and lashed out with a powerful Force Push. Grievous was sent flying back, taking pieces of the elevator doors with him. What was left of the door closed and the elevator began to descend.

Luke took this moment to sit down and take a few deep breaths. "What the heck was that thing?"

"A monster."

Rex had encountered Grievous only once before. Him and Ahsoka were tasked with destroying a Separatist listening post. They were about to plant explosives on the main reactor when he showed up. He looked as terrifying as the rumors said he did but Ahsoka didn't appear to be impressed as she charged right at him without hesitation.

But Grievous swatted her away like she was nothing. The rest of his memories of that were a blur. One second he was firing his blasters at Grievous, the next he was waking up on the floor. He wasn't sure how he survived that encounter, but he considered himself lucky. He considered himself even luckier that he never had to be face to face with him again.

Until now.

When the elevator reached the ground floor, the door opened, and they ran for it. They made to the outside of the base where there were dead Umbarans and broken droids scattered across the ground. They heard the sound of glass smashing. Grievous crawled out the window and spotted his prey fleeing down the main road.

He sprang off the building and landed with a thud, quickly regaining his balance and stampeding after his target.

Luke looked back and saw Grievous closing in. In his moment of distraction, he tripped and went sprawling. Rex stopped and started shooting. Grievous spun his two red blades in front of him and blocked every shot while still advancing. Luke furiously crawled backwards, trying to gain distance.

But then the ground beneath Grievous exploded.

Luke shielded his eyes from the cloud of dirt that was flung at him. Rex grabbed him and pulled him back to his feet.

"What do you know, you were right. There were still mines out here."

Rex and Luke ran back into the jungle. Grievous struggled to stand back up, now missing one of his feet. He was about to continue his pursuit when he was shot in the back by an Umbaran solider. Grievous lumbered towards the solider, who started backing away in fear. But then dozens of blaster bolts rained down from the sky on Grievous. The solider looked up and saw a team of Mandalorians descending from the sky. Grievous quickly crawled away into the darkness.

The Umbaran thanked the Mandalorians for saving him.

"You're welcome. We've been tracking him across the galaxy for days after he attacked our homeworld. Perhaps you Umbarans and your advanced technology could help us track him down?"

The Mandalorians met with the Umbaran leaders who quickly agreed to help the Mandalorians in their goal to bring down General Grievous.

One Mandalorian whispered to another, "Contact Shadow and tell him our mission was a success."


	23. The Art of the Deal

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Lando and Garballa boarded the Falcon. "So, where is this droid?"

"He's right…" Lando paused, realizing that Omega was nowhere in sight. "Um… wait here a second." Lando rushed to the cockpit. "L3, please tell me you did not remove the restraining bolt from Omega."

"You have no right to restrict his ability to move."

Lando had to resist the urge to tear his hair out. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know. He took the Emerald scanner and left."

"Urrgggh, he's gonna ruin everything!" Lando groaned. He went back to Garballa. "So… slight problem. The droid is… missing. And it _might_ be roaming around inside your mine killing everyone it sees."

"Is that supposed to be some sort of joke?"

Then they heard an explosion.

"Don't worry! I can fix all this! Just let me find him!" Lando ran out of the Falcon and into the mine.

* * *

Han landed the Ghost on Lothal.

"What makes you so sure he'd come here?" Greedo asked snidely.

"He said he was looking for the Jedi. Which means sooner or later, he will end up here."

"So, we're just supposed to wait for him to show up. For all we know he's already been here and left."

But the Emerald detector was going off, which at least meant there was an Emerald here.

Greedo picked it up. "What do you know? Looks like coming here wasn't a waste after all." They followed the device, which led them to the capital building. "Looks like these Emeralds have already been found."

"Don't worry this place is run by those old, dumb droids from the Clone Wars. This'll be easy." Han reassured him.

They walked in the front door.

"Greetings, citizens. How may I be of service?" The droid at the reception desk chirped.

Han stepped smoothly forward. "See, we've lost something that's very important to us and we heard it was here somewhere."

"What did you lose?"

"A large, glowing gemstone."

"We happen to have two of those. Was it silver or yellow?"

"Ah, it's been such a long time I don't remember. Why don't you bring both of them out here? Maybe that'll jog my memory." Han suggested.

"Okay, let me just… wait a second. I was told these gemstones are from a completely different universe. How could one of them possibly be yours?"

"Um… we're also from another universe." Han lied.

"You don't look like those other people who came from that universe."

"Was one of them short, blue, and annoying?" Greedo asked.

"Yeah, he was the one who brought the Emeralds here!"

"That's the guy who stole the Emerald from us!" Greedo shouted

"I thought you said you lost it." Roger pointed out.

"Yes, we did lose it. But then it was stolen." Han picked up the thread of his tale again.

Kalani walked in and observed the scene. "What seems to be the problem here?"

"Oh, these two claim to be the proper owners of one of those Emeralds we have."

Kanani studied Han and Greedo for an uncomfortably long amount of time. "…All current data confirms that you are lying. Leave now or you will be arrested."

Greedo whispered to Han, "Now what, genius?"

"Don't worry, I have another idea." Han quickly pulled out his blaster and shot Kalani and Roger. "Come on, let's go!"

They ventured deeper into the building. A damaged Kalani picked himself off the floor and activated the alarm.

* * *

As Omega gunned down another group of thugs that tried to stop him, he heard a familiar voice.

"Omega, stop!"

Omega turn his head to see Lando running down the way he came.

"What are you doing!"

"Acquiring the Chaos Emerald."

"I had a plan to get the Emerald! And you just ruined it!"

"Well, my plan is working perfectly so we shall continue doing this my way."

"You can't just run around down here blowing things up!" Lando protested.

"I am very certain that I can."

"Omega, this is a mine shaft!" Lando practically screamed. "If you keep firing missiles willy-nilly, you're going to cause a cave-in! And if that happens, you'll be trapped down here!"

"But then how will we acquire the Emerald?"

"Haven't you ever thought about once, maybe, using words?"

"That sounds like a very inefficient way of killing someone."

"I mean negotiating!" Lando spat.

"Negotiating is not a part of my skill set."

"Have you ever thought about learning how to negotiate?"

"I have not. Negotiation has always been a job performed by someone else. And I am the one they bring in when negotiations fail." Omega intoned.

"Well why don't you come with me, and I'll show you how it's done."

The two walked back outside, where Garballa is waiting with a bunch of his men.

"Lando! You better have a good explanation for this!"

"I apologize. It was just a simple processing malfunction. I rebooted him, and he should be just fine. Isn't that right, Omega?"

"Affirmative."

"That droid of yours killed over a dozen of my guards!"

"Well, I told he was capable." Lando said in a bragging tone.

"You have no deal!" Garballa exploded. "Leave here now!"

Lando sighed. "Well, that's just too bad. I guess I'll just have to sell him to someone else. Perhaps the Black Sun will be a bit more interested. Say… aren't the Hutts currently at war with them? Sure would be a shame if they decide to use Omega to attack this place."

"Is that a threat, Calrissian?"

"I'm just stating the facts here. Whoever gets this droid is going to have the power of an entire army at their disposal. I wanted to sell him to you, but you said we have no deal."

"Or I could destroy you both right here!"

"Well you could certainly kill me, but Omega? I wouldn't bet on it. And if I'm dead there will be no one left who can control him. How about instead, we come to an agreement? You help me get my business back from the Mandalorians, I give you the deadliest droid in the galaxy, and everyone walks away alive and happy?"

"What about the Emerald?" Omega asked.

Lando inwardly facepalmed.

"You're trying to steal the Emerald from me!" Garballa screeched. "Forget it! That Emerald is mine!"

"No, it is not." Omega corrected. "That Emerald is the key to my quest for vengeance and saving this universe. If I do not acquire it, then my enemies will."

"I don't care about your problems."

"You will if my enemies come here looking for it."

"And how will they know it's here?"

Omega simply held up the Emerald tracker. "If my enemies come by, they will know it is here. There is no scenario where the Emerald remains in your position. And my enemies will be less willing to negotiate a peaceful exchange. You can die at the hands of me or the hands of my enemies. Or you can give me the Emerald and survive." Omega put his full arsenal on display. "I await your decision."

Garballa sputtered. "Grrr… fine! Just take it and go! And don't ever come back!"

Omega put his weapons away. "These terms are agreeable."

Minutes later, they were flying away, Omega holding the blue Emerald.

"Amazing. The negotiating worked. I completed a mission that didn't involve killing people." Omega turned to Lando. "Thank you for teaching me the skill of negotiating."

"Yeah well, I still don't have a way to get my business back from the Mandalorians."

"Can't you use your negotiating skill on them?"

"The Mandalorians aren't the negotiating type. They're more like you."

"Would you say that that is a situation that demands killing lots of people?"

Lando smiled. "You know, come to think of it, it is."

"Then perhaps we could take a small detour on our way back to Lothal."


	24. The Purge

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

"All of you back off!" Sabine shouted, pressing her gun against Eggman's head. "Or I plug Shadow's friend here full of laser bolts!"

"We're not friends."

"And you keep quiet."

The Mandalorians in black armor looked at each other, not sure what to do. They watched helplessly as Shadow's personal scientist was shoved down the hallway.

"You don't have to be so aggressive you know!" Eggman complained.

"We should blindfold him, so he doesn't see where our hideout is." Tristen ripped off a piece of Eggman's coat and tied it around his eyes.

"Hey! This is my favorite coat!"

Tristen ripped off another piece to use as a gag.

After what seemed like several hours, the blindfold and gag were removed. There was a strange person standing in front of Eggman. "Who the heck-"

The person suddenly punched him in the stomach. "You will speak only when spoken too. I have questions for you. Who are you? And what makes you so important?"

"I am the genius Dr. Eggman Robotnik! I'm the smartest man in this universe or any other."

"What use does Shadow have for you?"

"To put it simply, I am his slave. Any time he wants something built, he unfreezes me and I have to build it. But now that I've been… somewhat rescued, I can finally put my plan into motion to kill him."

"And what is your plan?"

"Part 1: escape. This was extremely difficult. I took me forever to boost the signal of the communicator in my glove. I wasn't even sure I still had any robots still active in this dimension, but it was my only chance."

Eggman's interrogator ripped off his gloves, threw them on the floor, and torched them with a flamethrower.

"Stop ruining my outfit! Do you have any idea how-"

She punched him in the stomach again. "Your plan."

"Er, right. Part 2: well, there's several different versions of the plan depending on where Sidious is at with his plan. Things like how many planets he's conquered by this point, who's still alive, how many Chaos Emeralds he's collected. I know he has at least one."

"Wait. Who is Sidious?"

"He was originally the chancellor of the Republic, and also secretly a Sith Lord, whatever that is. He was killed, but somehow possessed Shadow's body and now rules Mandalore."

"…Are you making things up just to confuse me?"

"Look I know it sounds complicated to someone of your _average_ intelligence. I'm still working out the science of how he was able to do it-"

She punched him in the nose.

"Ow! Is that really necessary? I'm telling you everything you want to know!"

"I'm starting to think you're not really important at all and the only purpose you serve is to waste our time."

"Look. Sidious plans on taking over the entire universe. And possibly even more universes. I'm the only one that can stop him!"

The interrogator gave him a flat look. "Really. You're going to save the universe."

"The multiverse, actually."

She rolled her eyes.

"All I need is some information about where Sidious is at with his plan."

"We don't know anything about his plan. All we know is that he's not on Mandalore at the moment."

"Not on Mandalore… that means he's going out and taking care of something in person, which means there's only a few things it could be. If he's still early on in his plan, he's looking for the Jedi to get information from them. Or he's out looking for some guy named Skywalker, he used to be Sidious's apprentice or something. Or he's going to torment Shadow by killing someone close to him."

"I thought Sidious was Shadow."

"Haven't you been paying attention? I said Sidious is possessing Shadow. I overheard him talk to Shadow. Or I assumed he was talking to Shadow, but I think that makes more sense than him trying to psychologically torture a wall."

"Who are these people who are close to Shadow?"

"There's Rouge and Omega, but I'm not sure if he knows where they are. He probably wouldn't go chasing after them and instead wait for them to come to him. There's also this also this Jedi kid he started hanging out with for some reason. I don't know how it happened, but apparently, they're close now or something. But Sidious would need him alive to gain knowledge about where the Jedi are at, and as long as he doesn't find out that Shadow is Sidious, he would probably wait until all the other Jedi are dead to kill him."

"So, he's out killing Jedi right now?"

"Maybe, but there's one other group of people that Shadow cares about…"

* * *

Cody radioed Rex. It had been three days since he had left with the mysterious droid, and he was hoping to hear some good news. But when Rex answered the call, the look on his face told Cody that there was no good news.

"Are you sure it was him?"

"No, I not sure! But looked like him. It moved like him. But it doesn't make any sense!"

Cody sighed. "Weather or not it is Grievous, it's still a serious threat. I'll alert the people of Coruscant immediately.

Static swept across Rex's image just before the connection died. Cody tried to get the signal back, but it was gone.

An alarm sounded.

Cody checked the monitor. The Temple was going into full lockdown. What was happening? He switched over to the surveillance cameras. Most of the cameras showed clones looking around in confusion. One of the clones suddenly fell. Then another. And another.

None of them got back up.

Cody zoomed in on one of the bodies. It had a big slash mark across its chest. Cody grabbed his old blaster. He stepped out into the hallway and felt a gust of wind blow past him. Cody frantically looked around but saw nothing. The gust of wind blew past him again. Cody raised his blaster only find that it had been cut in half. He threw the pieces to the ground.

"Enough games! Whatever you are, come face me you coward!"

A small, dark figure emerged.

"Shadow! Or… Sidious!"

"It's both, actually. Shadow's still here. You know, I dreamed of the day the clone army would storm the Jedi Temple and exterminate the Jedi. But instead, I'm the one storming the Temple to exterminate you. How ironic."

Sidious pulled out a red glowing Emerald. Cody charged at him. Sidious casually raised his arm and Chaos Speared him through the chest.

As Sidious searched the Temple for any more survivors, he was distracted by a pounding feeling in the back of his mind.

Shadow was enraged.

Sidious grinned sadistically in response. "You freed them from my control to save their lives. But in doing so, you made them worthless to me. They could have lived on, being valuable assets to my empire. But your decision to free them got them all killed."

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"Go ahead then. Try to kill me."

Shadow violently tried to push Sidious from his mind, only for Sidious to shove him back down into the depths of his subconscious.

Sidious rubbed his forehead to make headache Shadow just gave him go away. "Your resistance is pointless. I'm the one in control. And you better get used to watching your friends die, because this is only the beginning."


	25. Vader Lives

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Sidious returned to his ship after he was finished with his massacre. He contacted his commanders for an update on how his plan was progressing. They had successfully gotten the support of the Umbarans, they had taken control of Christophsis, and Utapau too. Unfortunately, they had lost contact with their troops on Bespin. They had sent reinforcements to investigate but they had never returned or responded.

Sidious wasn't concerned. The operation on Bespin was small and not worth very much. But the next piece of news was very concerning.

"The rebels have my scientist!?"

"Yes, sir. This strange droid showed up out of nowhere and-"

"I don't want your excuses! Find him! Bring him back or kill him."

"Right away, sir!"

Then Sidious received another transmission. He answered, and an image of Grievous appeared.

"Report, General."

"I have captured Target: Alpha."

"What about the other two?"

"Target: Gamma escaped. Target: Beta's location is unknown."

Sidious frowned, but accepted this. "One's good enough for now. Meet me back on Mandalore."

* * *

Greedo shot down another super battle droid. "Hurry up, Han!"

"I'm working on it!" Han spat back, continuing to manipulate the wires of the electronic safe.

"This is a stupid idea! Why do you always have to get us into these situations?"

Han finally managed to get the vault door open. He stepped inside and grabbed the two Emeralds before stuffing them in a bag. As he turned around to leave, two commando droids dropped from the ceiling of the vault. Both pulled out vibro-swords.

Han dropped the bag and pulled out his blaster. He shot the first one in the head, but before he could fire again, the second droid knocked the blaster out of his hand. Han backed up until he hit the back wall of the vault. The commando droid lunged at him. Han caught its arm and tried to push it away. But the droid was too strong, so Han was pinned against the wall.

Greedo finished off the super battle droids and looked back to see Han struggling with the commando droid.

"I could use a hand here!"

Greedo let out a groan and stepped into the vault. He glanced down to see the bag with the Emeralds in it laying on the floor.

"Any time now!"

Greedo picked up the bag and looked back at Han. "I think you've almost gotten me killed enough times."

"Greedo, what are you doing?"

"Starting my solo career." Greedo turned his back on Han and ran.

"Greedo!" Han howled.

* * *

As the various search parties returned to Lothal, everyone exchanged stories of their adventures inside the temple. But the piece of news that got the most attention was that Grievous was alive.

"That's not possible!" Petro protested. "I witnessed his death!"

"True, this is. Felt his death, I did. Grievous, that cannot be."

"I know what I saw. It was him." Rex insisted.

"Do you think Sidious might have found a way to bring back the dead?" Ezra asked.

"He did manage to bring himself back from the dead." Luke pointed out.

"Who cares about Grievous?" Knuckles exclaimed. "We're still missing two Chaos Emeralds!"

"He's right." Rouge agreed. "We can figure out what to do about the cyborg zombie later."

Kalani picked that moment to intrude upon their meeting.

Sonic waved. "Hey, we got some more Emeralds for our collection!"

"I'm afraid I must I inform you that the two Emeralds that were in our position have been stolen."

"Stolen!?" Knuckles roared. "By who?"

"A pair of scoundrels entered the capital building and claimed they were the proper owners of the Emeralds."

"And you believed them!?"

"Even Knuckles wouldn't fall for something that dumb." Sonic said sardonically.

"Of course not. They were obviously lying and when their deception failed, they took the Emeralds by force. One of them escaped with the Emeralds. The other was captured by my security team. He is being interrogated as we speak."

"Great. So now we have to find four Emeralds." Knuckles complained.

"I want to speak to him." Petro decided.

* * *

Petro stepped into the small interrogation room. There was only a table and two chairs with Han sitting in one.

He looked up at Petro. "Forget it. I'm not talking." As much as he would have loved to sell out Greedo for leaving him behind, Jabba had zero tolerance for snitches.

"That's fine." Petro raised his hand and Han felt a wave of pain course through his brain. "You work for Jabba the Hutt. Your partner, Greedo, abandoned you. And you're also trying to kill… Sonic."

Petro couldn't find any more useful information and left the smuggler's brain.

Han groaned. "What did you do to me?"

Petro ignored his question and left. He met back up with the others. "The Emeralds are in the hands of Jabba the Hutt."

"He's going to hand them over to Sidious." Boba said.

"Then we need to get to Jabba before Sidious does." Luke decided.

"Stealing from Jabba isn't going to be easy." Boba warned.

Lando grinned. "I think I have an idea. I going to need… you." He pointed at Sonic. "Omega, Boba, and Miss Not in the Mood."

"Alright." Petro agreed. "And while you're doing that, the rest of us will search for the remaining Emeralds."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere." Knuckles announced. "I'm staying right here and making sure that no one runs off with the Emeralds again."

"Right, because no Emeralds have ever been stolen while you were on guard." Sonic said sarcastically.

"Shut up!"

Rex and Ezra volunteered to stay and guard the Emeralds. The more Emeralds they had, the more likely it was that someone would show up looking for them. Luke, Tails, Chirrut, and Petro would go look for the remaining loose Emeralds.

Once the teams were decided, the two groups departed from Lothal.

* * *

Anakin meditated in his cell, because it was the only thing he could do to pass the time. But it was nearly impossible for him to focus. His mind was clouded with questions. What was Sidious doing? What did he want with him? And did he plan on doing with his family?

Each question made him more and more worried. He eventually gave up on meditation and started pacing instead. After what felt like days, he wasn't really sure, Sidious returned.

Walking behind him was General Grievous. Anakin wanted to say something, but his mind couldn't formulate any words.

Sidious grinned smugly. "Surprised?"

"…How?" Anakin finally managed. "He's supposed to be…"

"Dead?" Sidious said, finishing his sentence for him. "Yes, he was. But the General has become useful to me again. But if I were you, I wouldn't waste too much time thinking about it. You have… other concerns."

Sidious gave a hand signal to Grievous, who left the room. He returned moments later, dragging somebody. It was…

"Padme!"

Grievous held her out so she stood right next to Sidious.

"Yes. Here we are again. We went over this before. You disappointed me. And the price for disappointment…" Sidious hissed as he ignited the Darksaber. "Is suffering!" He viciously cut off Padme's leg.

Anakin screamed in rage and tried to Force Choke Sidious. But he Chaos Controlled into Anakin's cell and kicked his legs out from under him. He picked up Anakin's head and forced him to look at Padme as she writhed in pain.

"You are going to witness every single moment of her agony. You're going to watch as she dies in the slowest and most agonizing way possible. And after she dies, I'll do the same to your daughter. And then to your son. And then after a few years, I might be merciful enough to let you die with them."

Tears began to spill out of Anakin's eyes. Satisfied with this reaction, Sidious teleported back out of the cell and resumed Padme's torture.

He lightly touched his saber to her face, letting the skin melt. Padme's screams echoed throughout the entire room.

"Stop! Please stop!" Anakin begged.

Sidious continued., laughing at Anakin's misery.

"My son! Take my son!"

Sidious paused for a moment, not sure if he heard Anakin correctly.

"Take my son as your apprentice."

Sidious deactivated the lightsaber and approached the cell. "You want me to take your son as my apprentice?"

"Yes. The Force in him is strong. He'll serve you well. Just don't hurt my family."

"An interesting offer. But I have already selected my next apprentice." He gestured to Byph, who had been watching the whole display in silent horror. "And he has shown to be-" Sidious paused mid-sentence as he saw Byph choke. He glanced back towards Anakin and saw that he was the one causing it. Sidious watched, amused as Byph's lifeless body dropped to the floor. "Hmmm, very well then. Bring your son to me." The barriers of Anakin's cell deactivated. "If he can live up to my expectations, then your family will be spared. But… if he does not meet those expectations or simply refuses to cooperate…"

"He will. I'll make sure of it."

Sidious gave Anakin back his lightsaber as well as an Emerald tracker. "My agents tell me that he is out collecting the Emeralds. Find an Emerald, and he'll eventually find you."

Anakin started to leave.

But then Sidious said, "This wouldn't be you trying to kill me again would it?"

"No. I've learned from my mistake."

"Then I wish you good luck on your quest, Lord Vader."


	26. Not the Hedgehog You're Looking for

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

After landing on Tatooine, Lando explained the plan. "Step 1, Boba takes Sonic to Jabba as a prisoner. Jabba will most likely want to keep you alive for Sidious. Once inside, Sonic will need to make a distraction. While everyone is paying attention to you, Rouge will sneak in and disable the power. The generator should be somewhere around here." Lando pointed to a spot on the map.

Sonic raised his hand. "I have a question. Why don't I just run in, grab the Emeralds and leave?"

"Because we're not just going to take the Emeralds. We're gonna make sure that they don't find them again after we steal them."

"We're going to steal their Emerald trackers too?" Rouge asked.

"Yes, and then we'll replace them with these decoys, so they'll never know when they're close to an Emerald."

"What is my part?" Omega asked.

"We don't know when Sidious is going to show up for the Emeralds, but if he comes when we're trying to steal those Emeralds, we're gonna need you to do your thing."

Boba put a pair of binders on Sonic's wrists and they approached the front door of Jabba's palace. An eyeball popped out of the wall and looked at them. It stared for moment and then retreated back into its hole. The door opened and an alien with tentacles coming of his head was standing on the other side along with two guards.

"You have a lot of nerve to come back here after crossing Jabba."

"I was offered a better deal. Nothing personal, just business. I heard Jabba was looking for whatever this creature is. I'd figured I'd bring it in as a sort of peace offering."

"I'm a hedgehog by the way!"

Boba smacked Sonic in the back of the head. "Quiet."

They were let inside and brought before Jabba.

The giant slug shouted angerly, with his protocol droid providing a translation. "I should make rancor food out of you for what you did."

"How about you feed him this thing instead?"

"Wait, what?"

Jabba eyed the blue hedgehog for a few seconds before opening the trap door and dropping Sonic into the pit. Sonic tumbled out the bottom of the chute and stared up at the rancor.

"Wow, you're… actually not as scary as I was expecting. What a relief!"

The rancor swiped its claws at him, but Sonic easily jumped over them. Everyone watched from above as Sonic zipped in circles around the monster.

Meanwhile, Rouge snuck in through a window on one of the upper floors. She began her making way towards the power generator, making sure to keep out of sight. When she reached the generator, she planted a bomb on it and backed off to a safe distance.

Outside, Lando was keeping watch with binoculars. He saw an explosion come from the side of the building.

"That should be the generator. Only a few minutes now…"

"I have detected multiple unknown ships headed our way."

Lando looked where Omega was pointing and saw multiple heavily armed ships approaching Jabba's palace.

"Oh no."

"Is it Sidious?"

"Worse. It's the Black Sun. And by the looks of things, I'd say they're here to blow up Jabba's palace."

Trying to avoid the claws of a ferocious monster: easy. Trying to avoid the claws of a ferocious monster in the dark: slightly more difficult. Sonic had discovered this after running into the wall for the third time.

"Hey! If anyone wants to get me out of here, it would be very much appreciated!"

The rancor, which could apparently see better in the dark than Sonic could, finally grabbed him.

"Guys!"

The monster lifted him up, brought him closer to its mouth, and stuffed Sonic into its jaws. He flailed about inside the creature's mouth and managed to scrape its tongue with his sharp spines. The rancor flung its head about, howling in pain. Sonic curled into a spindash and cut the rancor's tongue in half.

The monster shrieked and spit Sonic back out. It stomped over to the far end of the dungeon, no longer interested in eating.

Sonic heard Rouge's voice calling from above, "Hey, Sonic! You alright down there?"

"No!"

Rouge flew down and saw Sonic covered in blood. "Holy shit, is that your blood?"

"No, I just need a serious shower."

Rouge lifted him out of the pit and back into the throne room, which was still in a state of confusion. Jabba was yelling for someone to fix the lights as his guards stumbled over each other trying to fulfil his request. Boba had positioned himself by the exit, waiting for Rouge. The heist was going perfectly, all they had to do was meet up with Lando and Omega back at the ship.

Suddenly, holes were blasted into the walls and ceiling of the palace. Rouge and Sonic shielded their eyes from the sudden burst of sunlight. They, along with Lando, bolted outside. They ran for the Falcon, where Omega was still standing guard.

When Sonic realized Omega wasn't responsible for the explosions, he asked, "What's happening?"

"The Black Sun are attacking Jabba's Palace. Hopefully they didn't notice us, so let's get out of here before they do." Lando suggested.

They started to fly away, but the attacking ships took notice and began pursuing them.

"What are they shooting at us for?" Rouge growled.

"They think we're part of Jabba's crew." Boba explained.

"Could you tell them that we're not?" Sonic asked.

"I could, but they'll probably shoot us down anyway." Lando replied.

"Will someone just get on the guns and shoot them already?" L3 said testily.

Rouge and Boba got on the guns and started blasting away at the ships. They managed to the destroy the two ships that were shooting at them and the Falcon flew into space.

Lando activated the hyperdrive, only for it to fail. "Oh, that's just great. Okay, bad news, guys. Those Black Sun slimos destroyed our hyperdrive. We have to go back to try to find a new one."

L3 took the ship back down and landed well away from Jabba's Palace in Mos Espa. Lando left to go buy a new hyperdrive, telling everybody else to stay with the ship.

But Sonic got bored. And he still wanted a shower.

He left the ship and started searching for a place to clean up. He found a fountain in the middle of town. Sonic stuck his head in the water and rubbed at his quills. Multiple people glared at Sonic, but no one dared approach him.

Sonic pulled his head back out of the water. "Can someone look at the back of my head and tell me if I got all the blood out?"

Then a blaster bolt flew past Sonic's head. A hairy giant approached; blaster raised.

Sonic looked and him and back at the fountain. "Oh! Desert! Public fountain! I am so sorry."

The giant shot at him again.

"I'm guessing you don't accept my apology." Sonic ran back to the ship. "Has Lando bought the thing yet?"

Rouge gave him a flat look. "Sonic, you were only gone five minutes. What did you do?"

"I might have contaminated the entire town's water supply."

Rouge facepalmed. "Why do I always have to be the responsible one? Just stay in the ship and try not to ruin anything else."

About an hour later, Lando returned with a new hyperdrive. "Okay, I just need to install this, and we should be good to go." Then he saw a Wookie angerly stomping towards his ship. "Uh, excuse me, that's my ship."

The Wookie looked at him said that there was a dangerous murderer on that ship.

Lando wondered what Omega did while he was gone. "I know the droid has a tendency to… overreact in certain situations, but I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding."

The Wookie just shoved Lando out of the way and continued into the ship. Inside, Sonic was losing at holochess for the twentieth time in a row.

"You're too impatient. You have to think things through before you make a move." L3 advised.

They heard a sudden roar. Sonic looked up and saw the angry, hairy giant again. "How did you find me?"

"If I had to guess, it would most likely be the footprints you left in the sand." Boba pointed out.

The giant started shooting at Sonic again. Boba aimed his rifle at him.

"Wait, don't kill him!" Sonic cried.

"He's trying to kill you."

"I know, but I'm not gonna hold that against him. This is just a big misunderstanding, right?"

Omega put an end to the shooting by grabbing the Wookie's arms and wrenching them behind his back.

Lando came back in. "Okay, I'm sure there's a way we can work this out without anyone dying or blasting holes in my ship. Now could you kindly explain what happened?"

The Wookie furiously struggled against Omega's literal iron grip and roared.

Lando turned to Sonic.

"I just wanted to wash the blood out of my fur!"

"He says your people attacked his home and slaughtered his people."

"Oh, I see what happened here. That wasn't me. You see, you're looking for Shadow. Except, it wasn't him, it was this android who looks like him."

The Wookie roared even louder.

"I don't think he believes you." L3 observed.

"Can we just kill this guy and move on already?" Boba asked.

Sonic threw his hands up. "No!"

"Then what are we going to do with him?"

"Um, do you remember Petro?" Sonic asked.

The Wookie nodded.

"Then we'll take you to him and have him explain everything."


	27. Frozen Heart, Burning Hatred

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Petro was guiding the ship through space on their quest to find the Chaos Emerald. In the back, Tails had the ship's manual open on his lap and was questioning Luke about ships in this galaxy. Chirrut was meditating.

"So how much fuel does it take to make a single hyperspace jump?"

Before Luke could answer the question, the Chaos detector started beeping.

Tails took the tracker and went up to the cockpit. "Hey, Petro! We got one!"

Luke joined them and looked down at the planet below. "What planet is that?"

"That… is Illum."

"Illum. I've never heard of that planet before."

"I'm not surprised. This planet is a secret known only to the Jedi. This is where young Jedi go to harvest their Lightsaber crystals."

They landed the ship and got out. The group approached the door that was built into the icy mountainside. It led them into a room. At the back was a large archway that was completely covered in ice. A large crystal hung from the ceiling like a chandelier. There was an opening off to the side where sunlight shown in.

Tails looked at the tracker. "It looks like the Emerald is behind that ice wall."

"That's the entrance to the caves where the Kyber crystals are."

"How are we supposed to get inside with that ice in the way?" Luke asked.

Tails looked up at the giant crystal above and then at the window where light was shining through. "Oh, I see what we need to do! We just move the crystal in front of the light and-"

Tails was cut off when he heard a loud crunch. He turned back to the ice wall and saw a hole in it.

Petro called from the other side, "Come on, guys! We need to find that Emerald!"

Tails shrugged. "Or we could do that."

They entered the ice caves, following the tracker's signal.

Luke stopped. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Um, no." Tails replied.

"The Force is calling to you." Chirrut explained. "I suggest you listen to it."

Luke closed his eyes and listened carefully. He heard the call again. Luke opened his eyes. "It's coming from that direction," He said, pointing down a side tunnel.

"But the Emerald tracker is telling us to go that way," Tails said, gesturing straight ahead.

"That's because the Force isn't leading him to the Chaos Emerald." Petro explained.

Luke hesitated. "Well, if it's not what we came here for, then shouldn't we…"

"We came here looking for the Chaos Emerald. But it appears the Force has brought you here for another reason. If the Force is telling you to go down that tunnel, then go." Petro said seriously. "We can find the Emerald without you."

Luke nodded and began walking down the tunnel.

"Shouldn't at least one of us go with him?" Tails ventured.

Petro shook his head. "No. This is something he has to do alone."

They continued following the tracker.

"According the tracker, we're close. But I don't see it anywhere." Tails mused. "It looks like it's… somewhere up there." Tails pointed at the top of a ledge. He flew up to have a look and found…

Anakin. Holding the Emerald.

"You? What are you doing here?" Tails asked.

Anakin ignored his question and asked one of his own. "Where is my son?"

Tails's ears flatted. "Well, you see, he really wanted an explanation on-"

Anakin used the Force to pull him close and grabbed him by the throat. "Where is he?"

Hearing this demand, Petro climbed up to the ledge. "…Anakin?"

Anakin shifted his focus over to him. "My son went looking for you. Where is he?"

"He's here with us. He went down a different tunnel."

"You let him go off alone?" Anakin yelled, shaking Tails as he did.

"The Force called to him. The way it called to me. The way it must have called to you too."

"Which tunnel did he go down?"

Petro could feel rage boiling inside of Anakin. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Anakin squeezed Tails's throat. "If you don't tell me where he is right now, your friend here will die."

Petro saw the look on Anakin's face. The same look he saw on Dathomire twenty years ago. "Anakin, whatever this is, I'm sure we can just talk it out."

"No, we can't." Anakin said as his grip on Tails tightened.

In an act of desperation, Tails threw the tracker at Anakin's face. The weak throw didn't hurt him that much but was enough to make him drop Tails. The fox immediately flew to the other side of the cavern.

Anakin drew his lightsaber. "I'm done asking nicely."

He leapt at Petro, who barely had enough time to pull out his own saber and block. Anakin followed up with a kick that sent him over the edge. Petro fell into a pile of snow. Anakin jumped down and prepared to deliver the finishing blow.

But his arm was stopped by Chirrut's staff.

Anakin turned and looked at him. "That was a mistake."

He swung at the blind man, and Chirrut ducked under the strike. Anakin swung again. Chirrut sidestepped and knocked the Chaos Emerald out of his hand with his staff. He then jumped back to avoid Anakin's third strike.

"Your anger blinds you."

Anakin viciously slashed at him. But Chirrut ducked and sidestepped every attack. Chirrut used his staff to strike Anakin in the face.

"The Dark Side has corrupted you."

Anakin erupted with a powerful Force wave that flung his opponent into the hard ice wall.

Chirrut tried to get back up, but Anakin punched him with his mechanical fist. Blood oozed out of Chirrut's nose.

Tails swooped down and kicked Anakin in the back of the head. Anakin Force pushed him into a wall. Chirrut attempted to use his staff again but Anakin cut it with his lightsaber.

"You think you understand the Force?" Anakin growled. "You think you understand power? My anger gives me strength! When you're in a fight, strength is what matters!" Anakin raised his lightsaber and plunged it into Chirrut's chest. "And you have no strength."

Anakin heard a voice behind him. "Dad?"

He turned around and saw Luke standing a few feet away. Luke's expression of shock quickly turned to horror as he saw Anakin's blade still in Chirrut's chest. Anakin noticed this and deactivated his blade, putting it away.

"Luke. Luke, I need you to come with me."

Luke took a step back. "Why did you do that?"

"I can explain it later, but you need to come with me right now."

Petro got back up and assessed the situation. "Anakin, what is this about?"

Anakin glared. "That doesn't concern you."

Tails pulled himself together and snatched the Emerald, taking to the air again. "I got it, guys! Let's go!"

Petro, Tails, and Luke fled down the tunnel they came through. Anakin tried to follow, but Petro used the Force to collapse the tunnel behind them. They made it outside and took off immediately.

Luke was shaking. "What happened in there? Why did he kill Chirrut?"

"I don't know." Petro answered. "But I have a bad feeling that Sidious is behind it."


	28. A Cry for Help

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Ganodi landed on Lothal. She would gotten back sooner, but she had to make a few stops first. Petro had told her not to check on their other friends, but Ganodi felt like she had to. And she was glad she did.

She had found Gungi infected with poison and multiple stab wounds in his chest. He was lying on the ground, unconscious. Lying next to him was Bossk with a snapped neck. He certainly would have died from the poison if she hadn't found him.

Ganodi had found Katooni in somewhat better shape, but that wasn't saying much. Katooni had taken a huge stab wound to the stomach. But she had apparently used her lightsaber to cauterize the wound so she wouldn't bleed out. It had saved her life but left her in excruciating pain.

Zatt, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. His wounds were simply too severe.

She couldn't find Byph at all.

Master Yoda was obviously disappointed to hear the news but was glad to see not all of his students had perished. They put the two Ganodi had saved in their beds and let them recover. There wasn't much else for them to do except wait for the others to return.

But then they received a transmission. It was a distress call from Baron Papanoida.

"Master Yoda, I need your help. My planet has been attacked by General Grievous."

"Still there, is he?"

"No, he was driven off when the Mandalorians showed up. The Mandalorians told me they will offer protection in exchange for providing resources to their cause. I told them I wanted no part in whatever war they were involved in. They told me that if I didn't accept their help, Grievous would likely return. And I have a feeling they were responsibly for Grievous's attack in the first place."

"Behind the attack, they are. Attack again, Grievous will."

"That is why I need your help. His first attack destroyed almost all of my defenses. We have almost nothing left."

"Send all the help I can, I will."

* * *

A ship landed on Pantora and three people disembarked. The Chairman was waiting for them.

Looking anxiously over the small group he asked, "Where are the others?"

"There are no others, it's just us." Ganodi answered.

"But Master Yoda said he was sending everyone he could!"

Rex nodded. "Yeah, that's us."

"This… this can't be all that's left of the Jedi Order!"

"The others are… busy." Ganodi explained.

"Don't worry. If Grievous shows up again, we can take care of him." Ezra said confidently.

"Are you sure three Jedi will be enough?" Baron asked.

"I'm not a Jedi." Rex corrected.

The chairman sighed under his breath.

* * *

Later in the dining hall, they discussed the Jedi's situation.

"The Jedi just aren't what they used to be." Baron said in disappointment. "I guess the whole galaxy isn't quite what it used to be either. Ever since this whole 'every planet for themselves' system was set up, no one helps each other anymore. The Jedi kept things in line, we didn't have to worry about any foreign invaders, and everything was stable. You know, Padme Amidala was trying to reunite the galaxy but after her last meeting, she vanished."

"I saw her after that meeting. She was heading back to Naboo to lay low for a while." Rex supplied.

"That's a relief to know."

"The galaxy changed in a lot of ways that weren't positive, but change was needed." Ganodi pointed out. "People helped each other, but only when they could get something back for it. The government's stability came at the expense of its people. And the Jedi blindly protected that government instead trying to fix any of its problems. I'm not a fan of every planet isolating themselves from the rest of the galaxy either, but I don't think anybody's ready for another galactic government system."

A guard ran in. "Chairman, multiple ships have entered the system."

The Chairman stood up. "He's back."

Bombs fell on the city. Ezra, Rex, and Ganodi each got into starfighters and joined the aerial battle. Rex was not trained as a pilot, but his time under General Skywalker told him he needed to be prepared for anything. He had read starfighter manuals in his spare time and had seen General Skywalker fly in actual combat. So Rex felt like he had a decent idea of what he was doing.

But when his ship started taking fire from laser cannons, Rex realized just how unprepared for this he really was. He frantically swerved his ship around, trying not to get hit.

"How did General Skywalker make this look so easy?"

Luckily, Ganodi was there to make up for his mediocre piloting skills, blasting apart ships with ease.

* * *

Grievous observed the battle from the command ship. The Pantoran defenses were holding up much better than last time. Fortunately, he was prepared for such a situation.

"Initiate protocol 19."

The command ship fired a missile.

* * *

"Incoming missile in sector five!" Ganodi shouted.

"Where?" Rex shouted back.

"On your left!"

Rex looked and saw the missile fly past his ship.

"I got it!" Ezra called and shot at it. The missile exploded into a large, blue cloud. "Huh, I've never seen an explosion like that before."

Rex looked at the blue cloud and felt a shiver a horror. "Guys, I've seen that before! That missile contained the Blue Shadow Virus and we just released it into Pantora's atmosphere!"

"Uh… how bad is that?" Ezra asked.

"If we can't get our hands on a cure, everyone on that planet is going to die."

Their mission completed, the enemy fighters pulled back and left the system.

"Okay, where do we get a cure?" Ezra asked.

"It's a special root that's found only on one planet. Iego."

* * *

Iego was blockaded by a fleet of Mandalorian ships.

"This is a restricted area. State your business."

"We just came here looking for Reeksa Root." Ganodi replied.

"Reeksa Root, you say. Well, I'm afraid there is none available for you to take. You see, General Grievous has been using a virus to attack planets, and Reeksa Root is essential for making a cure. So, I'm afraid we can't spare any. Unless… you are willing to join our cause."

"…Kriff." Ganodi muttered to herself. _The Mandalorians have taken over all access to the cure, making them the only ones people can turn to when Grievous attacks them. The entire galaxy would be forced to join them, weather they want to or not. Even if we expose them as the ones behind the attacks in the first place, it still wouldn't change the fact they're people's only hope for survival. _

"Ganodi, what do we do?" Ezra asked.

Ganodi looked at the blockade and sighed. "We're leaving." She contacted the Chairman.

"Were you able to get it?"

"The Mandalorians are hording it and offering it to those who join them. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do for you now. For the moment, I strongly recommend that you take their offer. The price will only get higher the longer you wait."

"So, that's it? We just surrender everything to the Mandalorians?"

"We're going to stop them, I promise. But we need time, and right now, time is something you don't have." Ganodi ended the transmission. She laid back in her seat, letting the weight of the situation sink in. "What are we gonna do?"


	29. Beautiful new Friendship

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Kalani was in his office, running through all the data he had on Grievous and trying to determine what the best defense strategy would be if he were to attack.

And then Sonic rushed in. "Hey is Petro back yet? I need him to tell this guy not to kill me."

"Petro has yet to return. But if someone is trying to kill you I do have an alternative solution."

"For the last time, I'm not killing him!"

"I was going to suggest we keep him in lockup."

"Oh. Yeah, let's do that."

* * *

"So we're going to keeping you in here for a while. Don't worry it's only until Petro gets back." Sonic reassured.

The Wookie growled at him.

"Okay, I can see how throwing you into a jail cell might look bad, but it's just to make sure you don't try to kill me. Once this all gets sorted out, we'll all look back on this moment and find it hilarious."

Omega shoved the Wookie into a cell and closed the door.

"Trust me, we're gonna be friends!" Sonic called back before leaving for a run.

The Wookie roared and pounded on the door, but it would not budge.

"Hey! Would you stop with the racket, I'm trying to sleep!"

He looked to the far side of the cell, where a scruffy-looking man climbed out of the bed.

"So, what are you in for?"

The Wookie roared his frustrations.

"You were trying to kill a small, blue creature, huh? What are the odds?"

* * *

"You're really trying to be friends with that Wookie?" Boba questioned.

"Well, of course I am!"

"He hates you and he wants your species to die."

"Most of my friendships start out that way. Right, Knuckles?"

Knuckles shrugged. "He's not wrong."

There was a knock on the door.

Sonic rushed to answer. "Petro?"

But it wasn't him, it was a human girl in a long, red dress.

"Um, hi?"

"Excuse me but need to speak to the governor immediately."

"He's a little busy at the moment, but perhaps I could be of assistance?" Sonic offered.

"My planet has been attacked and I need to find my father and brother."

"Let me guess, your planet was attacked by Grievous, right?"

"How did you know?"

"Because that's a problem that everyone seems to be having lately. I'm afraid you're gonna have to take a number."

"Was your planet attacked too?"

"No, my planet's fine. I'm here to stop Sidious from taking over the universe."

"How do you know that?" She questioned.

"Oh, he possessed the body of one of my friends. And he's apparently responsible for Grievous coming back from the dead, so we'll end up taking care of that too. You're welcome to hang out here in the meantime."

"Thank you for your hospitality."

"All right! Everyone, this is… Sorry, what's your name?" Sonic asked.

"Leia Skywalker, queen of Naboo."

Sonic blinked. "Uh, you said you were looking for your father and brother, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, funny story…"

Then from behind, she heard, "Leia?"

She turned around and saw, "Luke!"

"Father killed one of my friends!"

"Mother was kidnapped!"

"He demanded that I go with him!"

"Naboo is overrun!"

They both suddenly cut off and stared at each other, both trying to absorb the news the other had brought.

"…Okaaaay, it looks like you guys have some stuff to talk about." Sonic said awkwardly. "Petro could you come here for sec?"

Sonic led Petro to the holding cell.

"…So, he wants to kill me." He gestured to the Wookie, who was growling at him.

Petro sighed. "I knew this would come back to bight us in the ass one day. I meant to clear this whole thing up years ago, but sadly I get very little free time. It's hard keeping the galaxy together. Especially with so few Jedi." Petro opened the cell. "Hey there, do you remember me?"

He recognized the man's scent. He was glad to see the battered child they had once taken in alive and well.

"What's your name?"

The Wookie introduced himself.

"Chewbacca? I remember you, you're the one who vowed to rip Shadow's arms off. So, here's the thing… I lied."

Petro explained the true story of what happened and his relationship with Shadow.

Chewbacca looked skeptical, then glanced at Sonic again and growled angrily.

Perto blinked. "You think Sonic is putting me up to this? I'm not some helpless kid anymore. I'm a Jedi now."

Chewbacca pushed Petro to the side and charged at Sonic. Petro used the Force to stop the Wookie in his tracks.

"Listen, I'm not his slave!" Petro's comm started beeping.

Kalani's voice came through. "Ganodi and the others have returned. We have new information that we need to discuss."

Petro sighed. "I'm on my way." He pushed Chewbacca back into the cell. "We're going to have to work this out later."

They closed the cell door only for the Wookie to immediately being pounding on it again, vowing to free him from the clutches of the evil slavers.

They started walking back upstairs.

"What is his deal?" Sonic asked.

"It's just like Shadow said: he believes what he wants to believe. He isn't looking for an explanation, he's looking for vengeance."

Minutes later, everyone was together again.

"Well, I hate to say it, but I think we've lost." Lando started.

"We have six out of seven Chaos Emeralds plus the Master Emerald." Knuckles pointed out. "We're doing great!"

"You would make a terrible gambler. Sidious has a virus deadly enough to wipe out every species in the galaxy and has full control over the only cure. Everyone's gonna surrender their loyalty to him whether they want to or not. He doesn't need your magical gemstones for anything."

"He's still going to want them." Petro said. "Any power that he doesn't control is potentially a threat."

"And the Emeralds give him even more power." Sonic reminded them.

"Then what are we supposed to do to stop him?" Lando asked.

"Many steps ahead of us, Sidious is. Prepared for any action we take, he will be. Something unexpected, we must do."

They heard a sudden commotion from outside the meeting room. Kalani's security guards appeared to be arguing with somebody. It was silenced by two blaster shots.

The door opened and Eggman strode through. "Greetings, everyone! Your savior is here!"


	30. Eggman's Plan to Save the Universe

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Bo-katan smacked Eggman in the back of the head. Turning to the others she said, "I was told the Jedi would be here."

Omega raised his guns to shoot Eggman but Rouge stopped him. "Let's at least find out why he's here before we shoot him."

Sonic waved. "Hey, Egghead! I was wondering where you ended up."

Knuckles readied himself for a fight. Everyone else just stared.

Eggman straitened. "Will you stop doing that?"

She did it again. "This bag of Bantha shit tells me he has a plan to kill Sidious. And apparently, he needs you to help him do it."

"If it's Eggman's idea, we're not doing it." Knuckles spat.

Eggman recovered again. "I possess critical knowledge that you are going to need."

Rouge rose a brow. "Like what?"

"Like for instance, if we kill Sidious while he's inside Shadow's body, he'll stay dead."

"What makes you so sure of that?" Rex asked.

"Based on my observations of Sidious while he's been in Shadow's body, he's unable to use the power of your 'Force' or whatever you call it. He seems to consider Shadow's Chaos powers inferior to the power he had before. So that got me thinking, if he was able to transfer to Shadow's body, why doesn't he transfer to a body that does possess Force powers?"

"Because-" Sonic started, only for Eggman to interrupt.

"That was a rhetorical question! Because he can't!"

"What do you mean he can't?" Ganodi asked.

"I mean he's trapped inside of Shadow's body. Because Shadow's body isn't connected to the Force."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Petro argued. "He was easily able to hop in and out of Shadow's mind before."

"Correction: he was able to project himself into Shadow's mind. His actual essence never entered until now."

"But if he can't get his essence out, then how was he able to get his essence in?" Ganodi questioned.

"He was able to use his immense power in the Force to break through the wall of Chaos Energy in order to enter Shadow. But once he got inside of Shadow, he lost contact with the power that allowed him to enter in the first place. It's like a door that only has a handle on one side. What little power he still has left, he uses to stay dominate in Shadow's mind. But his connection to the wider extent of the Force has been completely severed. Therefore, he cannot shoot lightning out of his hands, he can't choke anyone with his mind, and most importantly of all, if he were to die, he can't hop into another body."

"That makes sense." Tails mused.

"That's all really interesting, but how does that help us actually kill him?" Rex asked.

"And how do we stop the Mandalorians from infecting people with the Blue Shadow Virus?" Ezra piped up.

"And what do we do about the return of Grievous?" Kalani added.

Eggman rose a brow. "Who?"

"You know, Grievous? The cybernetic warlord who mysteriously came back from the dead?" Sonic said.

"Came back? Oh, I know what you're talking about. He is dead. Sidious just want everyone to think he's still alive. He said it would be easier to terrorize the galaxy with an old monster rather than a new one."

"So the Grievous we saw is just a droid?" Rex asked.

"Android. But yes, that is in no way the real Grievous."

A palpable wave of relief swept over the room.

"Well, destroying an android shouldn't be too hard." Petro said confidently.

"That's other thing. There's four of them."

"Four?" Tails exclaimed.

"Yes. That way he can attack more than one planet at once. It's just more efficient. Luckily for us, none of that matters."

"I feel like it matters." Ezra muttered.

Eggman tapped the tips of his finger together. "That only thing that matters is Sidious. If we take out the individual pieces of his plan, he'll just alter his plan to compensate. But if we eliminate him, everything else falls apart.

"Again, how do we actually kill him?" Rex repeated.

"Luckily for you, I am an expert went it comes to killing hedgehogs."

Sonic burst out laughing.

Eggman scowled at him. "I'm more of an expert than any of you! Because I've spent years researching permanent ways to kill all of you! Including Shadow."

"And what have you come up with?" Sonic asked, still grinning.

"The answer is quite simple really. We get him to remove his inhibitor rings, wait for him to exhaust all of his energy, allowing me to easily finish him off."

"If it's so easy, why have you never tried it before?" Rouge wondered.

"Well, the main problem I run into is… surviving to that point. But in this situation, I have the perfect tool for the job."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Sonic asked.

"That would be you. You will fight Sidious, force him to remove his inhibitor rings, and waste all of his energy."

"Is this a plan to kill Shadow or is this a plan to kill me?"

"If I'm lucky, you'll both die."

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence!"

"What if Sonic was in his Super form?" Tails proposed. "Then he could survive anything."

"But we only have six Emeralds." Knuckles pointed out.

"Yes, but Sidious has the last one." Eggman informed. "Which he would no doubt bring to a fight with you. And once all seven Emeralds are in the same place, you can easily absorb all their power."

Rouge considered this. "That's actually… not a bad idea."

"We just need to lure Sidious to us. And considering how vital I am to his plan; I'd say I make the perfect bait."

Kalani pulled up a map of the planet. "We should lure him to the far side of Lothal to minimize civilian causalities."

Eggman clapped his hands together. "Great. Let's move out and get our camp set up."

Yoda went back to the temple to continue looking after Katooni and Gungi. Kalani and Leia would stay in the capital and keep watch for Sidious's ship. Everyone else headed to the other side of the planet.

"I'll contact Sidious and let him come find me. When he gets here, Sonic will fight him while the rest of you protect me from whatever forces Sidious brings with him." Eggman outlined.

Petro notice that Luke had gone very quiet. "Got something on your mind?"

"Do you think… that my father's evil?"

"Evil is a word that is often misused. Your father has done terrible things, but whether or not he's truly evil is determined by the reasons behind those actions."

"What reason could he possibly have for killing Chirrut?"

"I don't know. But I sense the Dark Side in him."

"If he's using the Dark Side, wouldn't that make him evil?"

"Not necessarily. The Dark Side is a path chosen by the desperate. It's possible that he doesn't want to do the things he's doing; he simply believes he needs to. His emotions guide his actions now. And while that does make him dangerous, it does not make him evil."

"Hey, give me a holoprojector. I need to make my call." Eggman rudely demanded.

Petro rolled his eyes and gave him one.

Once everyone was out of sight, Eggman made the call. "Hello again."

"Doctor Eggman. This is unexpected."

"I know that you're looking for me. Obviously, considering how important I am. And I know it's only a matter of time before you find me. So I was hoping we could make a deal. I went to that trouble of finding the other six Chaos Emeralds for you. And in exchange for delivering these Emeralds to you, I request my position of power back, an entire planet for me to rule over, and I want all superweapons that you have me develop to have my insignia on them."

Sidious narrowed his stolen eyes. "What are you up to?"

"I can't rise to be a ruler while I'm hiding from you. So I was hoping we could negotiate. But if not, then maybe I'll go ask the Jedi if they're interested in receiving help from the smartest man in the universe."

Sidious was silent for a moment.

"I know you're going to come here looking for me no matter what. I pose far too much of a threat to you."

"I will be there in one rotation. I look forward to seeing how good your trap is."


	31. Plans Gone Awry

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Leia and Kalani sat in the observation room and watched for incoming ships on the monitors.

They sat in silence for several minutes before Leia decided to speak. "So… after we defeat Sidious, what do you think we should do with the rest of the galaxy?"

"I don't intend on doing anything. What the rest of the galaxy does is not my concern."

"It should be. Planets all over the galaxy are being destroyed and conquered by Sidious and they're going to need help to rebuild."

"It was decided twenty years ago that all planets were independent and were required to take care of their own internal problems themselves.'"

"But this in not an internal problem!" Leia argued.

"Even if I wanted to help these other planets, I would not be able to. It would require more resources than what I have. The planets that have been left in ruin will have to find a way to survive on their own."

"But what if we brought back the Republic?"

A note of incredulity entered Kalani's voice. "I fought in the Clone Wars to insure the Republic's end. What makes you think I would want it back?"

"Just look at where the galaxy is now. Sidious is conquering the entire galaxy one planet at a time and there's no force strong enough to stop him."

"Our current plan will see to it that Sidious is destroyed."

"And what happens when the next power-hungry warlord decides to start taking over planets? The only way to stop people from giving into people like Sidious is to let them know that the rest of the galaxy will have their back."

"But will the rest of the galaxy have their back? The Republic protected its worlds, but only the ones it deemed important. This is why the Separatist Alliance was formed in the first place. Being attacked by criminals and warlords and having no one to protect you was simply how many planets in the Outer Rim lived. Nothing has changed for them except no longer having to pay taxes to a government that left them for dead." Kalani said coolly.

Leia took a moment to let Kalani's words sink in. "Was the Republic really that bad?"

"It was."

"Then why is my mother always trying to bring the Republic back?"

"Your mother is an idealist who believes she can fix a broken system. But if the Republic were to return, it would suffer from the same problems it did before. No one government can be trusted to control the entire galaxy, and nothing will change that."

They finally got a blip on the radar. "A single ship has entered the Lothal system." Kalani reported.

"Well, that can't be Sidious. He wouldn't come with just one ship."

"The ship is headed directly towards the coordinates from which Eggman broadcasted his transmission. It must be him."

* * *

"Please, Knuckles?"

"No."

"But-"

"It's too dangerous!"

"But it'll be so much fun!"

"Sonic, if I give you access to the Master Emerald's power, Sidious will have it too."

"He doesn't even know about it!"

"He'll know when he sees you!"

"Okay, so what if he figures how to do it, it doesn't change the plan at all!"

"Actually, it kinda does." Tails interjected. "If Sidious goes Hyper and then removes his inhibitor rings, we don't know how much damage he'll be able to do. We at least know the limits of his Super form, because Shadow was left completely drained after teleporting the Space Colony Ark, which allows us to stay a safe distance away."

Sonic groaned. "But it's been so long since I've been able to go Hyper! You never let me do it anymore!"

"I've never let you do it! You only discovered it in the first place because you found where I was hiding the Master Emerald."

Sonic was distracted by a call from Eggman. "Sidious's ship is approaching! Get ready!"

Sidious landed his ship and calmly got out. He saw nothing but an open plane of grass. He followed the signal to where Eggman's transmission had come from and found a transmitter laying on the ground. Sidious scanned the environment. He had learned to make use Shadow's enhanced senses instead of relying on the Force and was now able hear a faint rumbling and spot a distant dust cloud on the horizon. The cloud quickly grew closer, and closer.

Sidious closed his eyes as the dust cloud flew past him. When he opened his eyes again, Sonic was standing in front of him.

"Hello there, long time no see!"

Sidious scoffed. "Was this the doctor's best plan? Send you to fight me alone?"

Sonic shrugged arrogantly. "We could have brought more, but that would have made things too easy."

"Well, this shouldn't take very long at all." Sidious pulled out the red Chaos Emerald.

"Great, you brought a Chaos Emerald!" Sonic revealed the other six. "Now I can complete my collection."

Sidious raised a brow. "A bold strategy."

All the Emeralds started to glow. Sonic felt the power of the Emeralds surge through him as his blue spines turned to a bright gold. Super Sonic looked back at his opponent, who he expected to also be shiny gold.

But all his red stripes had turned dark purple, his eyes were completely red, with no white or pupils, his small fangs grew until they could no longer be contained by his mouth.

Sonic blinked. "Wow… that is not a good look for you. I guess you decided to take the negative energy from the Emeralds."

"I'm a Sith. What else did you expect?"

Sonic just shrugged. "Doesn't matter either way, I guess. Now, come on. Let's see what you got!" Sonic stood ready for Sidious to attack him, but the Sith just laughed. Sonic just looked at him in confusion. "Okay, even I don't think my jokes are that funny."

"Just how foolish do you think I am?"

"On a scale from 1 to 10 I'd rate you about a 7."

"I know how these Super forms work. We're both invincible in this state. Fighting you would be a waste of time and energy."

"So, are you just going to stand there until our Super forms run out? Because Shads and I are pretty evenly matched in our base states too."

"Of course not. Waiting around would be equally as wasteful. You might be invincible, but no one else is."

In the blink of an eye, Sidious was gone. Sonic came to a terrible realization.

"Guys, he's coming for you!"

"You were supposed to keep him distracted!" Eggman shouted.

"I'm not used to fighting someone who's actually smart!"

"If I don't die, I'm going to kill you for saying that."

Sonic soared through the atmosphere; eyes peeled for the other hedgehog. "I don't see him anywhere near you guys."

"He must be going for the temple!" Petro surmised.

Sonic zipped over to the temple. "He's not here either! Any other ideas?"

Petro thought for a moment. "If he's not trying to destroy them or the temple, then what does he plan on using all that power for?"

* * *

Kalani sat, waiting for word about whether their mission was a success or not. Leia began to feel something. She wasn't sure what it was, but something just felt wrong. The transmitter went off again.

"Something has entered the city. It doesn't look like a ship."

Leia's bad feeling grew worse. "We need to get out of here."

Kalani looked at her. "Why?"

"We have to go now!" Leia ran out of the room.

Kalani looked out the window. He saw Shadow wrapped in a dark aura, floating above the city. He saw him removing the golden rings from his wrists. Kalani began calculating the possibilities for what this meant. But he never completed that calculation as a large burst of red energy exploded out of Shadow's body.


	32. I have no Mouth and I Must Scream

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Sonic's Super form had run out and he returned to the others. "I couldn't find him, but whatever he planned on doing, he's probably done it by now."

Bo-katan punched Eggman again. "You said this plan would work!"

"Give me a day or two and I'll come up with another one!"

"I think we've had enough of your plans, Eggman." Knuckles growled.

Ganodi tried to call Kalani. "It didn't work. We have no idea where he is now." She got no response from the other side. "Kalani? Are you there?" And then it hit her. "Guys, I think I know where Sidious went."

They saw the smoke cloud long before they got there. And when they did get there, it was even worse than they imagined. The city was devastated. Not a single building was left standing.

Ezra's heart sank to the deepest part of his stomach. "No. No, no, no!" Ezra dropped to his knees. "My parents…"

As everyone else stood in mournful silence, Eggman suddenly snapped, "What are you all just standing around for? We need to find Sidious before he gets his energy back!"

Sonic shot him a poisonous glare but loped off to do exactly that. He easily found him lying in the crater where the explosion had originated. Sonic found the inhibitor rings as well but didn't put them back on Shadow's wrists as that would help Sidious recover faster. He picked up the body and ran back to where everyone else was.

Eggman gestured at them. "See? It did work!"

Rex punched him this time.

"Ow! If everyone's done taking their frustrations out on me, can we finally kill Sidious?"

Ezra stood up and pulled out his lightsaber. "I'll do it."

The black hedgehog's eyes cracked open. "I wouldn't if I were you. You wouldn't want to kill Shadow now, would you?"

"What are you talking about?" Petro demanded. "_You_ killed him. You killed him when you took his body."

"Oh no. Shadow's still here. If fact, I'll let him talk to you."

The evil smirk on Shadow's face suddenly dropped and he blinked in confusion. Then his eyes widened, and he shouted, "Kill me! Kill me now!"

Everyone stared in a mix of shock and confusion.

"I knew it." Sonic growled. "I knew he was still in there."

Painful hope seized Rouge's heart. Shadow was alive, was within reach even, and yet…

"Kill me now before- arghhh!"

Shadow's facial expression relaxed as Sidious re-took control. "Still want to kill me?"

"Yes!" Ezra responded, stepping forward and lifting his lightsaber.

"Ezra, no!" Petro grabbed Ezra's arm.

"Why not? We still need to kill him, don't we?"

"He's right." Eggman agreed. "We still need to kill him. This changes nothing."

Rouge glared at him. "Did you know he was still in there?"

"No, I did not."

Bo-katan could not let such dishonesty stand. "Yes, you did! You told me you overheard Sidious psychologically torturing him!"

Omega pointed his machine guns at Eggman. "You tried to trick us into killing Shadow!"

"I'm not trying to kill Shadow; I'm trying to kill Sidious. I just left out the part about Shadow being alive because I knew that would stop you from killing him. We still need to kill Sidious."

"We're not killing him!" Rouge asserted.

"And what do you suggest we do then? Just stand here until he regains his strength and blows us all up? You do realize how difficult it is to contain someone with Shadow's power, don't you?"

Petro tried to get some control over the situation. "Alright, it's obvious we need to make a decision quickly. So, let's put it to a vote."

Eggman rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yes, and it's obvious what your stance on the subject is."

"Well, I vote we don't kill him." Rouge declared.

Sonic and Tails also voted against killing Shadow. Bo-katan voted to kill Shadow. Boba voted to kill Shadow. Luke voted against killing Shadow. Rex voted against killing Shadow.

Omega was silent for a long moment.

"…I vote that we kill Shadow."

"Omega!" Rouge screeched.

"It was Shadow's request that we kill him. As his friend, I must honor that request."

Ezra voted for. Ganodi voted against. Knuckles voted against. Lando and L3 voted for. Petro voted against.

Seven votes to kill Shadow and eight against.

"It's settled then. We're gonna find another way." Petro announced.

Eggman groaned. "This is why democracy is stupid. So now what?"

"We'll take him back to the temple and you'll build something to contain him." Petro ordered.

"All right, fine! Get me his inhibitor rings and maybe I can work something out. But be warned, I never pass up an opportunity to say I told you so!"

Unknown to them, they were being watch by four Mandalorians

"They're taking him back to the temple, just as he predicted."

"I still don't understand what he thinks he's doing. What's the point in letting the Jedi capture him?"

"Our orders are to rescue him, not ask questions. Now let's move."

Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Ezra, and Luke stayed behind to search for any survivors. Everyone else went back to the temple.

"What do we do about them?" one of the Mandalorians asked, gesturing to the search party.

The one with binoculars zoomed in on them. "That's target: Beta. Ringo, go secure the target and kill the rest. We can't let the Jedi find out we're here."

* * *

Eggman was working on his device to contain Shadow when Boba walked over to him. "We have Sidious, now where's my payment?"

"He didn't have it with him when we captured him. I don't know where it is now."

"We had a deal."

"Yes, but I'm in the middle of something important right now."

"I spent five years in a Sarlacc Pit because of you. So, if you don't pay me with the Darksaber, you're going to pay me with your life."

Bo-katan, who was watching Eggman to make sure he didn't try to pull anything, glared at Boba. "That saber doesn't belong to you."

"I was promised the Darksaber in exchange for doing my job and I've completed my end. Therefore, it's mine."

"The Darksaber belongs to Mandalore and I'm not gonna let you take it." She put her hand on her holster.

"Before you two start your little shoot-out, might I remind you that the Darksaber isn't here?" Eggman interjected. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to complete work on the thing that's going to keep Sidious from escaping and killing us all!"

Boba and Bo-katan glared at each other.

"We'll settle this later." Bo-katan decided.

Eggman finished his device and went to put it on Shadow.

"Are you sure this will contain him?" Petro asked.

"No, I'm not sure! This is an experimental piece of technology that I slapped together over the course of a few hours. This is why my plan was to kill him!"

"We are not sacrificing Shadow to kill Sidious."

"Do you honestly think saving Shadow is a possibility?"

Petro remained firm. "Until we can determine that rescuing Shadow is 100% impossible, he stays alive."

Eggman shoved the device into Petro's hands. "I need a nap. Wake me when you're ready to make an intelligent decision."

Eggman's invention linked Shadow's inhibitor rings, turning them into handcuffs. Petro went to the room where they were keeping Shadow and where Omega stood guard. The droid was an ideal guard not only because he was able and willing to put the hedgehog down if it proved necessary, but he could also be trusted not to kill him when it wasn't necessary. Petro put the cuffs on Shadow's wrists.

Sidious did not seem bothered. He in fact smiled smugly. "You trust the doctor to build something to contain me, yet you refuse to listen to his advice. Every moment I'm left alive is a moment Shadow suffers. You realize this, don't you?"

Petro ignored him.

"Even now, Shadow begs you to kill him. He knows this is a terrible idea. And so do you."

"I'll find another way."

"Of course, go on, take your time. I'm sure Shadow won't mind waiting. He's been waiting for five years already, what's a little more time?"


	33. Search and Rescue

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Han wasn't exactly sure how the ceiling above him was blown into pieces, but he certainly wasn't going to complain about it. "Hey, furball! Give me a boost!"

Chewbacca grabbed Han and tossed him through the hole.

"I said boost me, not throw me!"

Chewbacca just climbed out himself. Han stood up and looked around. The city had been destroyed.

"It looks like someone dropped a warhead on this place."

Chewbacca blamed Sonic.

"I don't think so. He saved me from falling to my death when I was trying shoot him. Plus, this is his base of operations. Why would he blow it up?"

As Chewbacca tried to think of a reason, he smelled something. He followed the scent to a pile of rubble.

"Hey, where are you going? The exit's that way!"

Chewbacca ignored him and started digging through the pile of rubble.

Han walked over. "What are you doing?" As he got closer, he saw a hand poking out of the rubble. Upon noticing this, he too began moving rubble out of the way.

They uncovered a young woman in a red dress. Blood was oozing out of one of her arms. She lay still, but a quick check of her pulse told them that she was still alive.

"Maybe she can tell us what happened here."

* * *

"Okay, we start with populated areas of the city, and spread out from there." Tails outlined.

"Okay, but someone should probably tell him that." Knuckles pointed to Ezra, who was striding purposefully away from the group.

"You guys go ahead; we'll catch up later." Sonic followed Ezra. "Where are we going?"

Ezra gave him no acknowledgment and continued walking. Sonic silently followed. Ezra eventually stopped in front of one the wreaked houses. The young Jedi stood there, staring at the ruined building.

"Is… that your house?" Sonic asked with a sinking feeling.

Ezra slowly nodded.

"Come on, we need to check if anyone's still alive in there."

"There isn't."

The words hit Sonic like physical blows. "I… I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's _his_."

* * *

Tails scanned the area from above, looking for any signs of life. Knuckles moved large chunks of rubble, looking for anyone who might be underneath.

Luke on the other hand, wasn't doing much searching at all. He was mostly lost in thought. He thought about the possibility of Leia being dead. It was clearly the most likely scenario, given how many corpses they had found during their search. But for whatever reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was alive. It was obvious the Force was giving him this feeling, but how was it possible?

Then he felt something. A presence. Someone was close.

"Guys, I think I found a survivor!"

Tails dropped back to the ground and looked around. "Where?"

"Behind that building, I think!" Luke pointed.

As they approached closer, an arm stuck out from the other side of the building and threw something at them. The object landed at their feet. It took a moment for Tails to realize what it was, but by then it was too late.

A pulse of energy burst from the device and shorted out all their communication devices. The Mandalorian stepped out from around the corner with two blaster pistols at the ready. They dived behind a pile of rubble for cover.

"You have no weapons and nowhere to run." The Mandalorian shouted cockily. "So you might as well just come on out and make this all quick and painless."

Knuckles picked up the large piece of rubble they were hiding behind.

The Mandalorian took a step back. "What the-?"

Knuckles threw it with a roar. The bolder sailed towards the Mandalorian and just missed as he ducked. Tails was able to use this get in close and tail-swipe his legs, knocking him over. Knuckles, following closely behind, pounced on the Mandalorian and pined his arms.

But he was able to activate his jet pack. They were both launched into the side of a flipped-over landspeeder. Knuckles was knocked loose and the Mandalorian shot upwards to gain some distance. He performed a strafing run, raining blaster bolts on the group from above.

They scattered. Tails pursued the Mandalorian into the sky. He fired a cable at the fox that tied his tails together and caused him to plummet. Luke saved Tails from impact with the ground by catching him with the Force.

Knuckles threw more rocks, but the jetpacked warrior proved annoyingly hard to hit. "Get down here and fight us!" Knuckles bellowed in frustration.

The Mandalorian responded by firing a missile at the echidna. He dived out of the way and it exploded harmlessly.

"We can't fight him like this!" Tails cried.

"Follow me!" Quick as a fish diving underwater, Knuckles burrowed underground. Luke jumped in, still carrying Tails.

The Mandalorian landed beside the hole. Following them down would mean giving up his main advantage. He scanned the area for life and followed the signal from above.

* * *

Ezra started at his destroyed house and destroyed life. Sonic hovered nearby, trying to think of a way to comfort him.

"Maybe we should go back and help the others search?" Sonic suggested tentatively.

"You go ahead. I've got something else I need to do."

"Are you sure you don't need my help?"

"Just go."

Sonic's ears flattened as he realized that Ezra must be mad at him. Sonic left to avoid bothering him any further. Ezra started making his way to the Jedi Temple.

* * *

Han attempted the start the engines of a cargo freighter to no avail. The ship was too heavily damaged and not in any shape to fly. Just like the past dozen ships he'd already tried.

"Come on! There has to be one ship around here that still works!"

Han exited the ship and walked towards the next one. Chewbacca, carrying the still unconscious Leia, followed.

Before they could reach it, Leia's eyes shot open and she cried out, "Luke!"

She flailed wildly, causing Chewbacca to drop her on the ground.

"Well, rise and shine." Han remarked sardonically.

"What's happening? Who are you people?"

"Just a couple guys trying to find a working ship."

Leia tried to stand up, but her legs crumpled beneath her.

"I wouldn't recommend trying to walk, you're in really bad shape. Speaking of which, you mind telling us what happened to this place?"

Leia thought back to before the explosion. "He was here. That… hedgehog."

Chewbacca began to growl.

"That hedgehog did all this?" Han exclaimed in disbelief.

"He was glowing. And I just… knew something bad was going to happen."

"Sounds to me like all the more reason to get out of here."

Chewbacca roared in protest.

Han stared. "You seriously want to go hunt down the hedgehog who singled-handedly caused all this damage? Have you got a death wish?"

"I need to get back to the temple and find my brother." Leia insisted.

"That place will probably be blown up too."

A rapid thumping of feet announced Sonic's arrival. "Survivors! Are you guys-" Sonic cut off as he realized who he was looking at.

Chewbacca charged at him with a roar.

Sonic easily sidestepped. "Come on, guys! Why can't we all just get along?"

"Get along? You blew up this entire city!" Han accused.

"That wasn't me! That was Shadow! Except it wasn't him, was this crazy, evil wizard who was controlling him."

"It wasn't him." Leia agreed. "I saw the one who destroyed the city. He was different. We had a plan to stop him and Sonic was part of it."

Chewbacca lunged for Sonic again, with no success. The movement caught the attention of the Mandalorian who was pursuing Knuckles, Tails, and Luke. It wasn't the group that he was looking for, but he saw the blue hedgehog marked for termination and target: gamma. He flew towards them and fired a rocket from his jetpack at Sonic.

"Look, you're not gonna catch me, so why don't we just sit down and talk about it?" Sonic looked up to see the missile coming at him.

At the same time Chewbacca charged again.

"Wait! No no no!"

The missile struck the ground between them and exploded.


	34. Life Debt

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

"I don't think he's going to follow us." Knuckles said.

"We can't go back out there where he is." Tails warned.

"But we can't stay down here forever!" Luke cried.

"Well, Knuckles could dig us a tunnel all the way back to the temple." Tails suggested.

"That'll take hours!" Luke protested.

"It's the best we got, now move aside."

Luke moved and Knuckles started punching the dirt wall behind him.

Luke froze as a sudden certainty washed over him. "Leia. She's alive."

"What are you talking about? How can you know that?" Knuckles questioned.

"I can sense it. She's that way."

Knuckles shrugged and started digging in the new direction.

* * *

Sonic's eyes opened, his ears still ringing. Pain coursed through his body as he tried to sit up. Through his hazy vision, he could see the Wookie laying on the ground as well. He wasn't moving.

"No. No, no, no." Sonic slowly crawled towards him. "No, no!" He tried to shake him awake. "Come on. Come on, wake up!" But the Wookie continued to lay motionless. "No! You are not dying because of me!" Sonic climbed onto his chest and began performing CPR. "I'm not letting another person die today!"

Han and Leia watched from the sidelines. Neither really knew what to do.

Then the Mandalorian flew in. He approached Sonic with blasters drawn.

"Sonic, watch out!" Leia called.

But Sonic ignored her, only increasing the intensity of his heart pumps. The Mandalorian aimed and prepared to fire. But then a hand burst out of the ground and grabbed the Mandalorian's foot.

Knuckles pulled his entire leg beneath the ground.

"What the kriff?" Was all he had time to say before his entire body was dragged beneath the surface.

A few seconds later, the Mandalorian's body flew back out of the hole, jetpack broken.

Knuckles poked his head out. "Whoa, Sonic what happened?"

Sonic ignored him. "Come on, come on!"

The Mandalorian struggled to his feet again. He looked over at the echidna who tossed him and saw he wasn't paying attention.

As Sonic continued to pump, the Wookie's eyes shot open and his lungs took in a big gulp of air. He stared at the blue hedgehog who saved him. Then he looked past him at the Mandalorian with two blasters drawn, one pointed at Sonic and one at Knuckles.

With one swing of his arm, he knocked Sonic off of him. Chewbacca flung himself at the Mandalorian and ripped one of his arms free from his body.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Chewbacca silenced him by ripping his head off. His lifeless body fell to the ground as Tails poked his head out of the hole.

A hundred questions filled Tails's head, but he wasn't sure if he wanted the answers.

Luke on the other hand, ignored the grisly scene and ran over to his sister. "Leia! Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, what happened to you? What happened to stopping Sidious?"

"The trap didn't work. He knew he couldn't hurt Sonic so decided to blow up the city instead. But we still captured him."

"I thought the idea was to kill him."

"That was the plan, but then we found out that Shadow is still alive. We took a vote and decided that we would try to find a way to get Sidious out of Shadow's body."

Meanwhile, Sonic was trying to stand back up, but felt intense pain in his right leg.

"Sonic, you're hurt!" Tails cried.

"It's not th- Ow!" He fell over again.

"Stop trying to stand, you idiot, and let me see." Knuckles barked at him. He examined the leg. "Yep, it's definitely sprained."

"Whoa, Knuckles when did you become a doctor?" Sonic joked.

"Sonic, I did not survive alone on an island my whole life without learning basic first aid."

"You've accidentally sprained yourself before haven't you."

Knuckles chose to ignore that comment as he picked Sonic up. "Come on, let's get you back to the temple."

"Wait, what about him?" Sonic pointed at Chewbacca, who was just standing there, looking at him.

"What about him?" Knuckles asked.

"He saved us when a minute ago, he was trying to kill me."

Chewbacca explained his actions, but Sonic couldn't understand.

"Uhhh… what?"

"He says he owes you a life debt." Han explained.

"A what now?"

"You saved his life so now he's bound to help you for the remainder of his life because you're the reason he's still alive."

Sonic blinked. "A simple thank you would've been fine. I'll tell you what, just agree to stop killing any random hedgehog you come across and we'll call it even."

Chewbacca nodded in agreement.

"Great, now that we've sorted that out, does anyone here have a working ship?" Han irritably asked.

"Sure, we've got plenty of ships back at the…" Tails paused as he came to a realization. There were probably more Mandalorians on the planet and the temple was probably where they would go.

* * *

Ezra entered the temple with his mind focused on only on thing. He approached the droid that stood outside the room where they kept Him.

"I wanna see him."

Omega saw no problem with this and stepped aside.

Ezra entered the room where Sidious was sitting in a meditative pose. His eyes opened and focused on Ezra as he approached him.

"Ezra, wasn't it?"

Ezra simply began punching the hedgehog. Sidious put up no resistance. Simply smiling back at him with every hit. Ezra picked him up with the Force and threw him against the wall.

"You killed my parents!"

"I killed a lot of people today. Quite selfish of you to ignore all the other deaths."

Ezra screamed and threw him against the other wall. He pulled out his lightsaber and slowly approached while keeping him pined against the wall. Ezra held the saber against Sidious's throat. Ezra glared, his eyes burning with rage.

"I should kill you right now."

"Well what's stopping you?"

Ezra was about to decapitate him when he was suddenly pulled back by the Force. It was Petro, who had just entered the room behind him.

"Ezra! What are you doing?"

"He killed my parents!"

"I understand, but you cannot let your emotions dictate your actions."

"You're the one who told me not to be afraid to use the Dark Side!"

"Yes. We use the Dark Side, we do not let it use us. That's what separates us from him. Until Shadow is safe, he will remain unharmed. Is that clear, Padawan?"

Ezra glared at him. "No, it's not." He stormed from the room.

Petro exhaled, trying to calm his senses.

"Such a disappointment."

"I will not let you turn my apprentice to the Dark Side."

"Oh no, I'm not the one who's disappointed. Shadow is. He can't seem to comprehend why you haven't killed me yet."

"You knew we would never kill him, didn't you? That's why you were okay with wasting all your energy before. But we will get you out of Shadow's body. And once you no longer have your living shield to hide behind, we will destroy you."

Sidious looked behind Petro and saw a tiny probe droid float into the room and hide itself in one of the dark corners. He looked back at Petro and grinned. "I look forward to it."


	35. Return of the Sith

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

"So, does anyone have any ideas?" Petro asked the group before him.

Eggman raised his hand.

"We're not killing him."

Eggman put his hand down and grumbled to himself.

"If he was able to force his way inside of Shadow, can't you guys force him out?" Rouge asked.

"Possible, yes. But then free, he would be."

"If we can't keep him in and we can't take him out, then what are we supposed to do?" Lando said in exasperation.

"What if we could move him into something else?" Ganodi suggested.

Petor considered the idea. "Something else that isn't connected to the Force…"

"We could trap him inside one of the Chaos Emeralds!" Eggman exclaimed.

"Inside the Chaos Emerald? Is that even possible?" Rex questioned.

"According to my research, yes. The energy in the Emerald would contain him just like energy in Shadow does. But because the Emerald is an object and not a person, he would be left completely unable to act. He'll be trapped forever! Does that work with your stupid moral codes?"

Everyone looked around at each other and nodded.

"Alright. Bring him to the meditation chamber. I'll go find Ezra. We're going to need all of us in order to do this." Petro ordered.

* * *

Meanwhile the trio of Mandalorians was camped outside.

"Alright, the probe found him. Now we just wait for the signal."

"I still don't understand what's he's trying to accomplish here. He just allows himself to be captured so we can rescue him a couple hours later? Why don't we just release the virus on this planet and kill them all that way? This whole thing is ridiculous!"

"I don't get it either, but he says it's important so we're doing it. Now start putting the explosives in place."

* * *

Petro found Ezra in the training room. Half of their training remotes lay in ruined heaps on the floor. Ezra was making no attempt to defend himself; he was simply trying to destroy as many as possible.

"Lashing out will not make you feel better."

"Then what will?" Ezra growled. "Why do you insist on protecting that evil piece of filth?"

"Ezra, don't you see that this is what he wants? He destroyed the city because he wanted us to be angry. He wants us to lower ourselves to his way of thinking. We're not killing someone if we don't have to."

"The only reason you aren't killing him is because he's possessing Shadow!"

Petro sighed. "I suppose that's true. After all the things that he's done, I did want to kill him. I'm not going to pretend I'm the perfect image of what a Jedi should be. Emotions are difficult to control, and the temptations will always be there. But we must resist them. It would be far easier just to kill him and be done with it, but it wouldn't be right. That's why we've come up with a new plan. It's risky, but it's a chance we have to take."

Ezra deactivated the training remotes. "Then let's do it."

* * *

All of the currently active Jedi were in the meditation room. Shadow was the middle of the room, surrounded by them. Petro held the red Chaos Emerald in his hand. The probe droid hovered near the ceiling and watched the proceedings carefully.

The four Jedi reached out with the Force and dived into Shadow's mind. The grabbed hold of the evil Sith's spirit. The spirit was unexpectedly compliant, putting up no fight at all. They pulled it out from the depths and Petro thought he heard screaming, but he couldn't focus on it. He put all of his attention on the Sith spirit, determined to not let it go.

Shadow's body convulsed violently floor. His head turned to look directly at the probe watching the ritual. He furiously blinked at it.

* * *

"That's the signal. Start the countdown!"

"Sir, we have enemy targets coming in from the east."

"Ringo must have failed. Come on, let's go give Shadow an extra surprise for when he escapes."

Tails was the first to spot the three Mandalorians flying towards them. "Incoming!"

"More of these guys?" Knuckles exclaimed. "Here, hold this for a second." He shoved Sonic at Tails and hastily began digging a new hole.

Everyone dived into the new tunnel. Once again, the Mandalorians decided against following him.

"This is ridiculous! How are we supposed to beat these guys?" Knuckles grumbled.

"Someone in the temple should be able to help us, if we can get there." Leia said.

"Alright. All of you stay here while I dig my way over to the temple. This will go a lot faster without having to make the tunnel big enough for all of you."

* * *

The Jedi finally pulled the evil spirit out of Shadow's body. Shadow went limp, unconscious from the shock. The spirit finally began trying to resist them, but it was no match against four Jedi. They began to slowly push it towards the Emerald.

The spirit let out what sounded like a demonic screech, trying in vain to break the Jedi's concentration. They began to push Sidious into the Emerald. They were so close, Petro could feel it. All they need was one. Last. Push.

But then, a noise broke his focus. He didn't have time to register quite what it was as he saw the ceiling above them begin to crumble.

Petro and Yoda let go of the spirit and redirected their energy to holding up remains of the ceiling before they were crushed. The spirit began to move away from the Emerald, faring much better against only two Jedi.

"I can't hold him!" Ganodi shouted.

The spirit broke from their grip and was now free to move around. It surveyed its new potential hosts. Yoda and Petro were powerful but their wills were clearly too strong for him. The Rodian's will was far weaker but so was her power.

Which left him with only one suitable option.

The spirit swirled around Ezra and began to seep into his body. Ezra fell to the ground and screamed. He fought back with everything he had, but the darkness easily overcame him.

Then Ezra could no longer feel any pain. He no longer felt the ground beneath him. He no longer felt anything.

He could see himself. He could see himself laying on the floor. He saw his eyelids open, but his eyes weren't there. These eyes glowed bright yellow.

And then Ezra faded away into the Cosmic Force, finally understanding the vision he had.


	36. I told you so!

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Petro felt what would normally be considered a disturbance in the Force. But this was far more than a disturbance. It was more like the Force itself was letting out a cry of agony.

But it wasn't until he looked and saw his apprentice, or rather, his former apprentice, stand back up with the Dark Side radiating from his body that the true horror of the situation sank in.

They. Had. Failed.

Not-Ezra stretched his arms. "Ahhh, it feels so good to be part of the Force again."

Ganodi tried to grab him with the Force. "Get out of Ezra's body you monster!"

Sidious easily broke free and Force choked her. He ignited Ezra's lightsaber and impaled her. That done, he strolled over and kneeled in front of Yoda. "Thank you for releasing me."

Yoda stared back with a look of defiance.

"How does it feel to once again lead the destruction of the Jedi Order?"

"The end, this is not. Destroy us, you may. But another, there will be. Always another, there will be. To extinguish the light, impossible it is. Allow it, the Force will not."

Sidious just impaled Yoda through the chest. He glared down at him. "I do not bend to the Force's will. The Force bends to mine."

Yoda collapsed.

Petro grunted as he was left to hold up the ceiling by himself. Sidious used the Force to pick up the Chaos Emerald and strolled over to Petro. He held up the lightsaber to Petro's throat.

Petro considered simply letting the ceiling drop and crush them both, but a quick glance at Shadow still laying on the floor quickly ended those thoughts.

"You still want to save him, even after it led to this. Pathetic. You're wise enough to use the Dark Side yet too weak to fully embrace it." Sidious deactivated the lightsaber. "But I suppose you got what you wanted. You saved Shadow. I hope it's worth all the destruction that will come from it." They heard the sound of someone running towards the room. "I'm afraid I must be going now but don't worry, we'll be seeing each other again very soon."

Sidious fled the scene.

Rouge and Rex ran in. "Petro what happened? What was that explosion?"

"Take Shadow, Ganodi, and Master Yoda and get everyone down to the lower levels!"

They took all of the bodies out of the room. Petro walked over to the exit and let go.

"What happened?" Rex repeated, this time to the old master cradled in his arm.

"Free… he is."

"But that means…"

"No. Hope… there… still is. Another… way… there is." Yoda's breathing was a faint wheeze and the light started to fade from his eyes.

"No no no! What way? What do we do?"

Yoda's body vanished, leaving Rex holding an empty set of robes.

* * *

The Mandalorians were positioned around Knuckles's hole.

"They can't stay down there forever, right?"

"Well, we can't stand around here forever either. We have to get back to rescuing Shadow."

"Don't bother. I am your ruler now."

The three Mandalorians whipped around. What they saw was a teenaged Jedi.

"You? You defeated Shadow?"

"Indeed, I have. And according to the Mandalorian code of honor, that makes me your leader."

"I don't believe it! There's no way this kid beat someone as powerful as Shadow."

He smirked. "If you doubt my power, perhaps you would like to challenge me?"

"It would be my pleasure."

The other two put their weapons away and stepped back let them duel. The Mandalorian aimed his blasters at the young Jedi. Sidious gently moved one hand and his opponent's arm snapped.

He screamed in pain but refused to be defeated that easily. He raised his other arm and fired his blaster. That arm was broken in a second.

Realizing he had no chance, he backed away. "Alright, you win! I yield!"

"No. The demonstration is not finished yet."

Sidious reached out with the Force again and broke apart the pieces of his armor. His helmet split into pieces, revealing the terrified face behind it. Sidious blasted him with Force lightning. The Mandalorian screamed as the lightning charred his skin.

Then Sidious stopped blasting him, leaving the Mandalorian quivering on the ground. He picked him up with the Force and with one swift motion, cut his head off.

The body fell the ground, leaving the head suspended in the air.

Sidious turned to look at the two remaining Mandalorians. "Any more challengers?"

They stood frozen for a moment, not sure it they believed what they just saw. They quickly bowed before their new ruler.

"I thought not."

* * *

"I told you so!" Eggman shouted. "Now we're all doomed and it's all your fault!"

Everyone in the room desperately wanted to punch Eggman, but they had to admit that he was right.

They were distracted from this by a section of the floor suddenly bursting upwards and revealing a fist. "Guys we need your help! There's a bunch of annoying guys with jetpacks out there and Sonic's hurt and so is Leia."

"Oh Knuckles! You're just in time for my I told you so!" Eggman spat.

"Uh, what's he talking about?"

"Sidious had escaped!" Eggman said with a manic grin, equal parts terrified and smug over being right.

Knuckles looked around and saw Shadow laying in a bed. "Isn't that him right there?"

"Oh no. Sidious escaped Shadow's body and possessed one of the Jedi! So not only is he free, he has all his Force powers back!" Eggman flung his arms out to emphasize. "Meaning no matter how many times we kill him now, he can just hop into another body! So that's a big round of applause for all of you! You've doomed this galaxy!" Eggman started laughing like a madman, high pitched and hysterical.

Boba rapped Eggman sharply on the back of his head, sending him to the floor in an unconscious heap. "Shut up."

"Oh… um… I'd better go expand the tunnel so the others can get in." Knuckles awkwardly retreated back to the underground.

The others sat in silence until it was broken by a groan. Everyone turned in it's direction and saw Shadow beginning to stir.

Shadow lifted his head. He seemed confused as he looked around at everyone.

Rouge ran over to him. "Shadow! You're alive!" She wrapped her arms around him.

He shoved her away, which she was expecting. This was normal for Shadow. He was very much against hugging for as long as she had known him. But this usually didn't stop her from trying.

But this time, Shadow's push was far more aggressive. This push was not out of annoyance. It was rage.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? I TOLD YOU TO KILL ME!"

"Shadow I-"

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE? YOU HAD HIM AND YOU LET HIM GET AWAY!"

Rex tried to intervene. "Whoa, whoa, calm down. We'll figure this out."

Shadow's eyes snapped over to him. "REX! REX HE KILLED THEM! HE KILLED ALL OF THEM!"

"Who?"

"THE CLONES! THEY'RE ALL DEAD!" Tears poured out of Shadow's eyes. "They're all dead."

Rex felt something deep inside of him break. He stood there, motionless. He wished he could change his vote. He wished could have been there, even if it would only have been to die along side them.

"Shadow I'm sorry." Petro tried. "We tried to-"

"AND YOU FAILED!"

"We did it to save you!"

"AND NOW SIDIOUS IS GOING TO KILL ALL OF US ANYWAY! YOU HAD ONE CHANCE TO KILL HIM AND YOU WASTED IT!"

Petro fell silent.

"IDIOTS! ALL OF YOU ARE IDIOTS!" Shadow curled into a tight ball and sobbed. "We're all going to die now."


	37. Hope

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Han had no clue what was happening. His job was just to steal an Emerald and kill Sonic. But now he's somehow gotten dragged into a fight with some Mandalorians, everyone keeps talking about this guy named Sidious, even though he supposedly died two decades ago, and the hedgehog who'd blown up an entire city was now just laying in a bed and no one was doing anything about it.

But everyone still treated him like he was a threat. The Jedi who interrogated him before slapped another pair of binders on him and shoved him into a corner to be guarded by a large droid.

"Can someone please explain why this is happening?"

"You stole the Chaos Emeralds, shot the Governor, and tried to kill Sonic." Petro answered.

"No, no, no. Me being arrested again, that makes sense. It's everything else! If you guys are fighting the Mandalorians, why are two of them standing over there in the corner?"

Bo-katan gestured contemptuously at Boba. "This one isn't a Mandalorian."

"Why is no one killing the hedgehog who blew up the city? And what is he doing here?" Han pointed angerly at Lando.

Lando shrugged. "I felt like helping out."

"Fair warning for the rest of you guys, whatever he's doing, it's probably a scam."

"I'll have you know I am a legitimate businessman now!"

Han rolled his eyes. "Sure, you are."

Sonic, who had been watching this, glanced back at the bed and realized Shadow was gone. After a quick search, he found the other hedgehog outside, staring up at the sky. The sun had started to set and a few stars could already be seen. But Sonic could guess that Shadow wasn't out here take in the scenery.

"Hey, Shadow. What are you doing out here?"

Shadow didn't answer.

"Should be a nice night. No clouds, we'll get a nice view of the stars, I wonder what kind of constellations this planet has? They have a lot of planets in this galaxy, there's probably billions of them!"

"I'm waiting."

Sonic's rambling came to an abrupt halt. "What?" It took him a minute to realize this was the answer to his previous question. "Waiting for what?"

"For him to come back."

"Come back?"

"Come back and finish us off."

"Oh. Well, hey it's not over yet!"

"Yes, it is."

"But we can still-"

Shadow's voice gradually grew louder. "No, you can't! We can't do anything! The only reason that Sidious left the rest of us alive is because he wants to see whatever pitiful attempt we make to try and stop him. You had your chance and you wasted it. So, if you think pretending that there's still hope and everything's fine is going to cheer me up, then don't bother!"

They both stood in silence for a minute.

Then Rex came outside. "We're going to have a meeting to decide what to do next, if you guys want to come."

Sonic jumped at opportunity to leave this terrible conversation. He hobbled inside, trying to keep pressure off his sprained leg and left Rex and Shadow alone.

"Are you coming Shadow?"

Shadow spun around to face him. "Why!? Don't you get it? We've LOST! All of this has been for nothing. Everything I do is for nothing. Freeing the clones, fighting to stop Sidious, none of it mattered. I just delayed the inevitable."

"I spent an entire war fighting for nothing. Every battle, every victory, every defeat, every sacrifice. That meant nothing. But then you showed up. You gave us a chance to fight for something real. For something we chose. That is not nothing. Now, we may not ever defeat Sidious, we might all end up dead. But I will never stop fighting for what I believe in. And neither should you."

Shadow said nothing, but he did follow Rex when he went back inside.

At the meeting, Eggman was the first to speak up. Everyone else groaned. Eggman ignored them in favor of talking. "With Sidious free, we have absolutely no chance at killing him. We should just build a portal back to Mobius and leave. We are one Chaos Emerald short, but the Master Emerald should more than make up for it."

"We can't just leave!" Tails exclaimed.

"Why not? You guys came to save Shadow and you did. Now we can leave."

"Not until we stop Sidious." Rouge argued.

"I just told you that's impossible. Even if we do kill him, he'll just hop into another body." Then Eggman thought for a moment. "Although… we don't really know the limitations of that ability. Perhaps if there was no one close by… Hmm. Perhaps there is another way."

"What are you suggesting?" Petro asked.

"We can build the Emeralds to build another super laser and blow up Mandalore!"

"What?" Bo-katan shouted.

"Yeah, I know it's your home and whatever but listen. If Sidious is on Mandalore and we blow Mandalore up, then everyone else on Mandalore will die as well, leaving no one close by for Sidious to possess. So if Sidious's body jumping ability really does have a limit, he'll be forced to die!"

"Are you insane!?" Bo-katan growled.

"Yes." Sonic replied.

"It could work. And if it doesn't, we'll just go back to my other plan of leaving."

"We are not destroying Mandalore." Petro declared.

"In case you hadn't noticed, ignoring my suggestions hasn't worked out in your favor."

Petro Force Pushed him against the wall. Then he paused an took in a few deep breaths. He proceeded after he calmed down. "Does anyone else have suggestions?"

"Well, I think the best course of action would be to get our hands on the cure for that virus." Rex offered. "It's only a matter of time before they use it on us."

"That's a good point but how are we actually supposed to get it?" Lando asked. "There's no getting past that blockade."

"They have to ship this stuff to the planets that swear their allegiance." Boba pointed out. "We could ambush one of their shipments."

"If we start doing that, they'll tighten their security. It'll get harder and harder each time we do it." L3 put in.

"Are we sure there isn't any other place, anywhere at all, that we can get this root?" Tails questioned.

"It can only be found on Iego." L3 said.

"Maybe we can find some sort of substitute." Tails tried again.

"That could take years of research." Petro stated flatly.

Luke shrugged. "I guess we'll have to be pirates then."

"You guys wanna get onto Iego? Because I know how."

All eyes turned suspiciously to the man sitting in the corner.

"You know haw to get past the Mandalorian blockade?" Bo-katan asked disbelievingly.

Han nodded. "Yeah. I know about a secret hyperspace lane. We'll be able to slip onto the planet completely unnoticed."

Lando looked skeptical. "I've never heard of any secret hyperspace lanes to Iego."

Han smirked. "That's because I'm the one who discovered it. And in return for showing it to you, I only ask in return my freedom, a ship, and 3,000 credits."

"You expect us to pay you?" Leia exclaimed.

"Well you guys seem awfully desperate…"

"Fine." Petro decided. "We'll try out this secret route of yours and if everything works out, you will be paid. But for now, we should all get some rest."

Shadow, who had been silently listening, was not impressed by this plan. Even if the scoundrel was telling the truth and they did get their hands on the cure, it would only slow Sidious down. They need a faster, more direct solution. Luckily, someone had already come up with one.

Later that night, a slap across the face woke Eggman up.

"Ommff!" A hand covered Eggman's mouth. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a shadow standing over him.

"You really think building another super laser can kill Sidious?"

"In theory."

"What do you need to build one?"


	38. Hedgehog's Day Out

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Everyone woke up early the next day. Most of them would be going to Iego. Rouge went to check on Shadow. He was sitting on his bed, staring at the wall.

"Hey. Are you doing okay?" It was a stupid question, as it always was. Rouge never needed to ask if he was okay because it was always obvious. But if he said he was fine when he obviously wasn't, at least that would mean he hadn't changed.

"No."

A chilling silence descended over them. Rouge was at a lost for words. She had always wanted him to be more honest with her about how he was feeling, but now that he finally was, she wished he would go back to lying.

When she finally worked up the nerve to speak again, she asked, "Are you coming on the mission?"

"No."

The silence stretched on again as Rouge struggled to find something to say.

"Shouldn't you be going?"

"You know, I don't have to go on the mission. I could stay here with you and-"

"And what?"

"Well, try and help you feel better?"

"My feelings are not the issue! The issue is that there is a Sith Lord on the lose! The way I feel doesn't bring us any closer to stopping him. Now why don't you go and something that's actually useful?" Shadow turned his back on Rouge and went back to staring at the wall.

Rouge felt her throat close up. Fighting back tears, she turned and walked away.

Outside, those going to Iego were boarding the Falcon. Sonic came out to join them but was stopped by Tails.

"Sonic, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to Iego."

"You sprained your leg yesterday."

"Well, I feel better today so let's go!"

"Sonic, you can't run on that! You aren't even supposed to be walking!"

"Then I'll just hop around on one foot."

Tails facepalmed.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna be fine."

Knuckles came outside and slung Sonic over his shoulder. "You're going to be fine because you're staying here." Without further ado, he carried the squirming hedgehog back inside.

Tails turned to the others. "You guys go ahead. Knuckles and I will stay behind and make sure Sonic doesn't hurt himself."

Han, Chewbacca, Rex, Omega, Rouge, Luke, Boba, Bokatan, Lando, L3, and Petro all boarded the ship and took off.

Eggman was drawing up plans for the super laser when Shadow came in.

"Alright, they're gone. Let's get to work."

"The first thing we need is a whole lot of scrap metal, which we should be able to find plenty of in the wreckage of the city. We're also going to require a hyper drive and a navigational computer, which we should be able to get from the remaining ships here. But most importantly of all, we need a place where we can build this thing without anyone noticing."

"We'll build it on the outskirts of the city. At a distance, it'll look like just another broken down ship. Now I just need to get us a quick means of transportation."

Shadow left Eggman and crept down the halls to where they were storing the Emeralds. Knuckles would normally be watching the room, but he was currently in a wrestling match with Sonic. Shadow took the green one and left again. He collected Eggman and they warped to the city.

Shadow collected scrap so Eggman could work.

"I need more round pieces. Round pieces!"

Shadow teleported away and came back with another round piece. Then Eggman realized something.

"Won't Knuckles notice one of the Chaos Emeralds is missing?"

Shadow let out a groan. He hadn't thought of that. As soon as he noticed an Emerald was missing, he would assume it was Eggman who had it and would come asking questions.

"I'll keep him distracted; you get started." Shadow ran back.

He went to find Knuckles, who hasn't discovered that an Emerald was missing. The echidna was just fishing tying Sonic to his bed.

"Is this really necessary?"

"Knowing you? Yes. I can't babysit you and the Emeralds at the same time! And Tails is too busy taking care of Gungi, Katooni, and Leia. So, I need to make sure you stay put even when I'm not around." Knuckles gave Sonic a commlink. "Call me whenever you're hungry or something."

He left the room and found Shadow in the hallway, leaning casually against the wall. Knuckles glanced at him but decided to ignore him. Shadow entered Sonic's room.

"Hey, Shadow would you consider tying someone to a bed illegal? Because I think this is illegal."

Shadow walked over and untied him. "Let's go do something."

Sonic stared. "Shadow, are you saying you want to hang out with me?"

"Let's go before Knuckles comes back."

Sonic hopped off the bed on his good foot. "I have no idea what you're doing but it sounds better than being tied to a bed all day." He hobbled out of the room.

Shadow picked up the commlink and called Knuckles. "Sonic escaped." He dropped it and followed Sonic into the hall.

"So Shadow, what are we doing?"

"We're going to be playing… tag."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Okay Shadow, what's going on with you?"

Then Knuckles rounded the corner and saw them. "Sonic!"

"Knuckles is It. Let's go." Shadow took Sonic down a different hallway.

"Shadow, this is really unlike you."

"You don't want to be stuck in bed all day do you?"

"Well, no but-"

"Then don't get caught!"

"Sonic, get back here!" Knuckles's bellows were getting louder.

Sonic looked at Shadow and then back at Knuckles. "All right, I'll play along. You'll never catch us, Knuckles!" Sonic hopped faster.

Knuckles tried to grab him, but Sonic was just a little too far away. Shadow looked ahead and saw a dead end coming up. Sonic saw it too.

"Uh oh. I think the game's up, Shadow."

"Just keep moving!"

They moved at full speed towards the wall. Just before they were about to hit it, Shadow used Chaos Control. Knuckles, unable to halt his momentum, ran right into the wall. Shadow and Sonic reappeared just a few feet away.

"Ha ha! You'll have to do better than that, Knuckles!"

They fled up the same hall they came down and eventually made their way outside. Shadow spotted a landspeeder.

"Over there!"

They got onto the speeder as Knuckles came charging out of the temple. "Sonic, this isn't funny!"

"Are you sure? Because from my point of view it is!"

The echidna dove at the speeder, only for it to accelerate, leaving Knuckles behind in a cloud of dust. They drove father and farther away from the temple, until they could no longer see it. They kept going until the speeder ran out of fuel and came to a stop.

The two hedgehogs got off and laid on the grass, staring up at the clouds. Hours went by and day slowly shifted to night.

"You know something Shadow? I think I get it now. You're trying to cheer me up. When Sidious destroyed the city, I blamed myself for it. It was my job to stop him and I failed. And then when Sidious got away, you felt horrible too. And you wanted to make things better. And so when I was forced to stay behind, you set up this little game for me so I could spend the day having fun instead of laying bed, thinking about how terrible everything is. Thank you, Shadow. This was a fun little distraction."

Shadow remained silent.

"Still not willing to admit we're friends yet, huh? Come on, you did all this for me."

Then they could see headlights in the distance. They watch as a speeder pulled up and Knuckles got off.

"Hey, Knucklehead! About time you caught up."

"Sonic, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I didn't want to be board and depressed. "

"And you, Shadow! What the hell? Why would you do this? Sonic might be a fan of goofy shenanigans like this, but not you! And what are you doing with one of the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Knuckles, relax. With all this horrible stuff going on, we needed this."

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Just get on the speeder so we can go back."

Then the speeder was struck with a Chaos Spear. Knuckles looked back at Shadow.

"What did you do that for? Do you have any idea how long it's going to take to get back on foot?"

"Long enough." Then Shadow disappeared.

Knuckles was completely dumbfounded. Sonic's heart sank.

"Knuckles? I don't think Shadow did this for fun."


	39. Never Tell me the Odds

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Lando scowled at Han in the pilot's seat. "Why does he get to fly my ship?"

"Because I'm the only one who knows where we're going. And when we do get there, you're going to need my expert piloting skills."

Lando rolled his eyes and took a seat.

"So where are we going?" L3 asked from the copilot's seat.

"Set course for Mon Cala."

"And how are supposed to get to Iego from Mon Cala?" Lando grumped from behind them.

"You'll see when we get there."

Meanwhile, further back in the ship, Rouge was talking to Petro. "You know, maybe I should have stayed behind."

"I doubt that would have helped anything."

"We went through all this trouble to get him back and now he hates us for it." Rouge vented.

"He doesn't hate us. He blames himself more than anything." Petro corrected. "All the time he spent trapped within his own mind, while Sidious used his body to slaughter innocents. He was infuriated because he couldn't do anything to stop it. And now that he believes that we have no chance at killing Sidious, he's infuriated even more. The best thing that we can do now is show him that there is a chance."

"Do you think he'll be the same afterwards?"

"I can't say for sure. But I do know that he'll never stop caring."

They soon arrived at Mon Cala.

"Alright, we're here. Now what?" L3 asked tersely.

"Now, we need to go this way."

"Wait, hold on! You're heading straight for that asteroid field!" Lando cried.

"Yep, that's where we're going."

"You're taking us through an asteroid field!?"

"You want to get to Iego, this is how we get there." Han shrugged.

"Do you know what the odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field are?"

"No, and I don't care. Now hang on because we're going in!"

The ship accelerated into the field.

"Are you out of you mind?"

"Relax, I can get through this no problem."

An asteroid hit the side of the ship.

"We're gonna die." L3 said flatly.

"It's just a scratch." Han assured them.

"Is this why your ship looks like a mangled piece of garbage?" Lando demanded.

"She may not be pretty, but she has it where it counts!" Han snapped.

Another asteroid struck the ship.

"We lost the main sensor." L3 reported.

Han waved dismissively. "We don't that anyway."

"You're paying for a new one!"

After sustaining a few more hits, they finally made to the other side of the asteroid field.

"See? We made it."

"Barely!" Lando snarled.

"Now, we just make one hyperspace jump, and we're off to Iego!"

* * *

Tails brought food to all the patients currently laid up at the temple. As he handed out sandwiches, Gungi suddenly spoke up.

"Translation, please?" Tails asked, looking to the others.

"He says he feels a disturbance in the Force." Katooni supplied.

"That's not much of a surprise with everything going wrong."

"No, this is a new disturbance."

"Well, what is it?"

Gungi spoke again.

"He doesn't know, but he thinks you should go check on the others."

Tails went straight to the room where Knuckles had taken Sonic, only to find an empty bed and a coil of rope on the floor. He went to the room where they were keeping the Emeralds. Most of them were still there, but one of the Chaos Emeralds was missing and Knuckles was nowhere to be seen.

Panic began to set in. Shadow's room was next, and it was just as empty as Sonic's. He went to find Eggman, but the fat scientist was missing too. Tails tore through the temple, getting more and more frantic with each empty room he found.

When he ran out of rooms to check, he went outside. Tails looked around and still saw no one. He was about to head back inside when he heard the sound of a metallic clang. He turned toward where the remaining ships were and heard the clang again. Tails followed the sounds inside one of the bigger ships and discover Shadow trying to rip the hyperdrive out of place.

Tails's first reaction was relief. "Oh, Shadow, there you are! Where are the others?"

Shadow whipped around in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Gungi said something bad was going to happen so I'm trying to find everyone. Do you know where the others are?"

"Don't worry about that. Just go back to the temple and let me take care of it." Shadow turned his back and continued struggling with the hyperdrive.

"Do you know what's going on?" Tails asked, ignoring his cue to leave.

"Don't worry about it."

"Why do you need the hyperdrive?"

"I'll explain it to you later, now go away."

"And why isn't Sonic in bed? He can't be walking around. And why isn't Knuckles guarding the Emeralds? Does he know that one of them is missing?"

Shadow lost his patience. "Will you stop asking questions?"

"Why won't you answer them?" Tails shot back.

Shadow tried to think of something to say, but he took too long.

"…You're behind the disturbance, aren't you?"

Tails tried to run, but Shadow grabbed him a pinned him against the wall.

"Damnit, why did you have to make this more difficult?"

"What did you do to Sonic and Knuckles?"

"I didn't-" Shadow paused. "You don't have to worry about them, provided you cooperate."

"What do you want?" Tails whimpered.

"You're gonna help me and Eggman with our little project."

* * *

The Falcon arrived at Iego, with no blockade in sight. They touched down out of sight of the harvesting operation.

Petro had come up a plan. "Me, Rouge, and Luke are going to sneak inside and steal as much Riska Root as we can carry while the rest of you create a distraction for us."

"You guys have fun with that." Han put up his feet and relaxed in his chair.

Everyone shot a look at him.

"What? My job was to get us here and I did. I've done my part."

"Fine you stay here with the ship." Petro conceded. "We're going to need to make a quick exit anyway. Alright, let's move out!"


	40. Nothing we can do

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Shadow teleported back to the construction site with Tails in tow and found Eggman taking a nap. He kicked Eggman awake with a growl. He flailed about for second before sitting up to glare at Shadow.

"I thought you wanted to stop Sidious already."

"That doesn't mean I don't require sleep!"

"We only have a limited amount of time before everyone comes back. So you are not going to stop working on it until it's done!"

"Are you out of your mind? You expect me to build this whole thing myself within just a couple of days?"

"No." Shadow threw Tails at Eggman. "I brought you an assistant."

"Why is it that no matter what side I'm on, I'm forced to build things?"

"Because that's the only thing you're good for." Shadow spat. "Now back to work!"

* * *

Rouge scoped out the harvesting operation from above. The roots they needed grew in a deep canyon. The locals had been pressganged into service as workers to haul crates of Riska Root to a storage facility guarded by Mandalorians. There were six of them. Rouge returned to the others to deliver the information.

"Slaves. Of course, they're using slaves." Petro sighed. "Okay, slight change in plans. This is also going to be a rescue mission. The distraction team will head into the canyon and start freeing the slaves. That should draw away most of the Mandalorians guarding the Riska Root."

"What do we do after we free them? It's not like we can fit all of them onto the ship." Lando pointed out. "They'll just be recaptured as soon as we leave."

Petro tried to think of a solution. "The Mandalorians have their own ships here. We'll just steal some of them."

"Okay, but there's still only two ways off this planet." Bo-Katan added. "Through the blockade or through the asteroid field. And we don't have enough good pilots."

"We can… we can…" Petro was stuck. "We can't." There was nothing they could do to save these people, aside from stopping the larger threat. Petro sighed again, more exhausted than before. "Stick to the original plan. Go make some noise."

The distraction team moved out, leaving just Rouge, Petro, and Luke. Petro was staring off into the distance.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked.

Petro blinked as he snapped back to attention. "Yes, I'm fine. It's just… it just seems like everywhere we turn there's another problem we can't solve. The Jedi are supposed to be the protectors of the galaxy and we just… can't do it. Every day I can feel more and more people losing faith in us. And I'm starting to think they might be right."

"But there is something we can do. We're doing it right now!" Luke protested.

"Yes, I know we are. I just hope it's enough."

The sound of explosions echoed in the distance.

"Well, that's our cue." Rouge said, trying to inject some cheer into the air. "You two ready?"

At the warehouse, there were three Mandalorians left, two at the front door and one on the roof. Rouge divebombed the one on roof and quickly incapacitated him. Luke and Petro ambushed the two at the door. Petro Force Choked one and Luke Force Pushed the other against the door.

They entered the warehouse and were caught in a ray shield.

Petro cursed. "Of course, there would be a ray shield. Of course, there would!"

"So, what do we do now?" Rouge wondered.

"Hope the distraction team can save us before reinforcements arrive."

Team distraction had gone after the Mandalorian ships and were destroying and disabling as many as they could. Rex was taking out some of the guards when he got a call from Petro.

"Rex, we've been caught in a ray shield. Send help."

"Lando! L3!" Rex barked. "The others need help!"

The two named broke away from the battle and made for the warehouse. As they left, more Mandalorian ships descended from the sky.

Lando and L3 made it to the warehouse. L3 plugged into a computer terminal to hack the ray shield. Four Mandalorians flew into warehouse on jetpacks and starting shooting. Lando dove to the side and shot back.

"L3 hurry up!"

"I'm working as fast as I can."

Lando blasted at the Mandalorians while using the ray shield as cover. Two more Mandalorians came in and joined the fight.

"L3!"

"I… almost…!"

A blaster shot went through her head. Her body collapsed to the ground as Lando screamed.

"L3!"

Lando charged out from behind the ray shield, blasting wildly at the Mandalorians. But once out in the open, he took hit after hit, until he crumpled to the floor as well.

"No!" Rouge howled, tears streaking down her face.

The armored warriors turned to their prisoners in the ray shield. Petro closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to focus his mind.

"Rouge. Luke. When they drop this ray shield, I want you both to run."

"But what about the Riska Root?" Rouge asked.

"We're not getting any. This whole trip has been a bust. I just want you two to get out of here alive."

"And what are you going to do?" Luke asked.

"The only thing I still can do."

One of the Mandalorians walked over to the terminal while the others stood with blasters ready. Once he entered the code to deactivate the shield, Petro let out a powerful Force Wave that knocked all the Mandalorians off their feet.

"Go!"

Luke and Rouge bolted, leaving Petro to battle the Mandalorians alone. The soliders quickly stood back up and started shooting at him. Petro used his lighting fast reflexes to deflect the blasts. He counterattacked with Force Lightning, frying two of them. One of the remaining Mandalorians fired a cable that wrapped around his arm, followed shortly by a second on his other arm. Petro struggled against their pull and used the Force to pull his captors towards each other and caused them to collide in midair.

The final two used flamethrowers to drive Petro back. He created a barrier around himself that the flames couldn't penetrate. The smarter of the two switched from fire to a concussion rocket. It exploded at Petro's feet and threw him onto his back.

Petro tried to refocus his disoriented senses. His vision cleared just in time to see the Mandalorian's boot flying at his face.


	41. Despair

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

The distraction team was pinned down by defensive fire.

"There's too many of them, we're not gonna last long here!" Rex shouted.

"What's taking them so long?" Boba griped.

Rex got a call from Rouge. "Rex, the whole plan's gone to shit! Lando and L3 are dead and Petro's been captured!"

"What do we do now?" Bo-Katan demanded.

"I don't know!" Rouge cried in frustration. "Let's just start with regrouping back at the ship."

"Slight problem with that. We're pinned down at the moment and can't go anywhere." Rex said grimly. "But if you could give us a little air support, we should be able to make a break for it."

Rouge hung up and called Han. Back on the Falcon, Han was going through Lando's stuff.

"Jeez, how many capes does one guy need?"

His com beeped and he answered with a gruff, "You guys done out there?"

"The plan failed. The rest of us are pinned down and we need your help."

"Hey, I told you before, my job is just to get you here."

"Seriously!? We are going to die out here!"

"Then it sounds like I should leave before they find me too."

Rouge exploded. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? YOU'RE JUST GONNA LEAVE US?"

"Listen, I'm not a part of your little war, or whatever you're doing. I signed up for this job to make some quick cash, but this is no longer worth it."

"YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLE!"

"What did you expect from me? What's unbelievable is the fact that you trust guys like me and Lando! Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't sold you out yet."

Han had already been holding the com away from his face to protect his hearing, but Rouge's next scream still nearly deafened him. It was not just a scream of anger and frustration, but grief and despair as well.

"**LANDO'S DEAD!**"

Han went almost numb as his confused feelings tried to sort themselves out.

"He died trying to save someone else." Rouge's voice was more subdued now. "He died trying to save me."

Han was completely silent.

"I know you're a scoundrel, but that doesn't give you an excuse to be a fucking asshole."

Han finally answered with, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you." And hung up on her.

* * *

Petro woke up inside of a box. He was unable to move any part of his body. There was a small window for him to look out of, but that didn't matter much because all he could see was another wall. The room was dark and the only thing he could hear was the sound of his own breathing.

Petro had read about these types of boxes before. Used by the ancient Mandalorians during their wars with the Jedi. Specifically designed to contain Force wielders, like him. He was trapped, and he had no way out.

Petro's only hope for escape was someone coming to get him. And even if they tried, it was unlikely they would succeed.

He let the feeling of despair wash over him. Maybe this really was the end. Petro was ready. He was tired of fighting.

But then he heard a voice. "So quick to give up, are you?"

"Master? Master Yoda?"

"Quite the dilemma you are in, hmm?"

"Master Yoda, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Tears began to drip down Petro's face. "I'm trying to lead in your absence but look where I got us! Everyone's dying or injured or worse and I don't know what to do!"

"Hmm. Familiar, that sounds."

"I need your help."

"What you need, you already have. Trust the Force. Trust those around you. Trust yourself."

"I'm trapped in a box. I can't do anything."

"Yes, but alive, you still are."

"So, what?" Petro wailed.

"Left you alive, why did they?"

"I don't know. They wanna torture me, or Sidious wants the satisfaction of killing me himself, or maybe the plan is just to leave me here to rot."

"Need you alive, they do. To provide a reason for your friends to come back."

"So I'm bait. That doesn't make me feel better."

"In order to be bait, alive you must be."

Yoda's calm serenity was beginning to irritate Petro. "So what am I supposed to do then?"

"You must die."

Petro blinked. He had been expecting some platitude about believing in his friends, not to be told that suicide was the answer.

"Remember your training, young Petro and may the Force be with you."

And with that Yoda was gone.

"Master? Master Yoda?"

Petro was now even more frustrated than before. What was he talking about? He wanted Petro to die? How was he even supposed to do that? Petro supposed he could slow down his heart with the Force until it stopped, but what good would being dead do him? How would the Mandalorians even know that he was dead down here?

Then Petro thought about that a bit more. How would they know when he was dead? The Mandalorians used to keep Jedi in boxes like this all the time. It would be far too dangerous to let them out if they were still alive so, the box must contain a sensor that monitored his vitals. With it, they would know weather their prisoner was dead or just sleeping.

And if he was dead, they wouldn't need to keep him in this box. They'd toss his corpse out and prepare the box for the next victim. So, dying _was _the solution.

Or at least, appearing to be dead.

* * *

Two very board Mandalorians were guarding the box.

"Ugh, someone finally decides to attack this place, and we get stuck with guard duty."

"Don't worry, when this one's friends show up to save him, we'll see some action."

"There's only a half dozen of them! They probably won't even make it this far."

Just then, the indicator for Petro's vital signs started beeping.

"Huh, his vitals are dropping." The guard said in mild confusion.

And then the device beeped a second time, signifying that his vitals had stopped.

"He's dead? How did that happen?"

They entered the cell and approached the box and checked that scanner one more time.

One of them rapped sharply on the window and shouted, "Hey! Are you alive in there?"

"I just don't get it." The other said, shaking the indicator. "None of the injuries he had should have been enough to kill him."

"Who cares how he died? Let's just dump the body so we can go join the fight."

They opened the box and undid all the restraints. They stood back and let the prisoner's body fall to the ground.

The first went to pick the body up. "Come on, let's dump him in the trash compactor."

The second held up his hand. "Hold on a second." He drew his blaster. "Just in case."

He aimed at Petro's head and fired, but blaster bolt swerved away and into his partner's leg.

He yelped. "What was that?"

The other looked at his blaster. "I don't know!" Then he felt something take control of his arm. It pointed the blaster at his friend against his will.

"What are you-" A blaster bolt silenced him.

Petro stood up.

"You! How did-!"

"You Mandalorians still have a lot to learn about what a Jedi can do."


	42. Not for Nothing

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

The Falcon ascended away from Iego. Han looked back at the planet. He thought about how the people he'd left behind were probably going to die. He tried to shake off the feeling and launched the ship into hyperspace.

It was their own fault, he told himself. They were the ones who wanted to come here. Why risk getting killed because of them?

He pushed his feelings of guilt away and turned his mind towards his new goal: Find that dirty backstabber Greedo and plug him full of laser bolts. Han still couldn't believe that he would actually leave him for dead like that.

Han paused for a moment as the connection formed in his mind. The feeling of guilt came back like a tidal wave. Han buried his face in his hands.

"Oh no."

* * *

The distraction team was huddled under the wreckage of one of the Mandalorian ships while soldiers circled above them like vultures.

"Where the hell is our backup?" Bo-Katan complained.

"I have a feeling we're on our own here." Boba replied.

Chewbacca roared his suggestion.

Rex shot it down. "Forget it, we'd never make it."

"If we keep killing them, their numbers will eventually run out." Omega pointed out.

"I have a feeling our numbers are going to run out before theirs do."

"So should we just surrender then?" Boba asked.

"They'd still kill us." Bo-Katan said complete certainty.

"If surrender, we die. If we fight, we die. If we run, we die." Boba grumbled.

"I guess this is the end." Rex said, resigning himself to his fate. "Omega, we're going with your plan. If we're going down, we might as well go down fighting!"

They charged out of cover and started firing into the air. The sudden aggression startled the Mandalorians and caused them to momentarily falter.

"For the Clone Army!"

"For Mandalore!"

"For Shadow!"

"RRRROOOOAAAARRRR!"

Boba silently rolled his eyes, wishing he could die alongside somebody else.

The Mandalorians regained their composure and returned fire. Rex took a hit to his chest plate. He dropped to one knee, wincing at the pain. Omega stepped in front of him, using his own body as a shield while firing back at their opponents. Omega continued to get hit with shot after shot, not reacting at all to the immense damage he was taking.

Boba and Bo-Katan engaged their opponents in the air, using their enemy's own tactics against them. Chewbacca's powerful bowcaster knocked Mandalorians out of the sky whenever he scored a hit.

Meanwhile, Rouge and Luke were watching the battle unfold from a short distance away. Rouge still had tearstains on her face, but she was clear-eyed as she tried to judge the best way to enter the fray.

"We have to make a distraction so they can escape."

"Escape to where?" Luke exclaimed. "Han left with our only ship."

"We'll steal another one." She looked around at her options, but all of the ships were either destroyed or surrounded by Mandalorians. "We'll... figure that out later. We don't have time to think about that right now." Rouge turned her attention to the fight, trying to determine the best way to strike.

But suddenly, two of the Mandalorians were hit with a laser cannon blast. Luke and Rouge jerked their attention upwards, searching for the source of the blast. A large shadow passed over them, the silhouette of what can only be the Falcon passing overhead. It drifted over the battlefield and used the force of its engines to blow the Mandalorians away. The ship lowered and the boarding ramp extended.

Rouge's com crackled. "Get in! I'm not waiting for you forever!"

"He actually came back for us." Luke said in disbelief.

They all ran for the ship, dodging more blaster fire. One of the attackers fired a rocket, which scored a direct hit on Omega. The heavy mech slammed into the ground with a thud. Large pieces of his body were missing where the rocket had struck.

"Omega!" Rouge screamed and dove for the wreckage. "Get up, Omega! We have to go!"

"Most of my primary systems are offline. I cannot move."

Rouge grabbed hold and tried to drag him. Blaster fire zipped past her head.

"Your attempt to save me will only lead to destruction of us both. Please do not fall for the sunk cost fallacy."

"Shut up! You're not being left behind!"

"You must leave me behind."

Rex appeared at Rouge's side. "Hey, this is a droid, right? The only really important part is his brains. Everything else can be replaced later."

"My body is very important!" Omega buzzed indignantly.

Rouge struggled to open Omega's head while Rex provided cover fire. But he quickly ran out of ammo.

"I'm empty, do you have his chip yet?"

"Almost, just get back to the ship! I'll have it in a second!" A shot to the arm knocked her over.

The Mandalorians had started closing in once they realized Rex was no longer shooting back. Rex jumped out in front of Rouge and let his body absorb more incoming blaster shots.

"What are you doing? I said get back to the ship!"

"You're not gonna survive out here without cover! Just get the droid's brain and go!" He grunted as he took more fire.

"But you'll die!"

"Don't worry about me. This is what I want to do." He turned his attention back to the Mandalorians. "Come on you Nerf herders! Give me all you've got!"

Rouge finally managed to rip Omega's memory chip out of his head. She began to head back to the ship, but paused to looked back at Rex, still taking shot after shot. Rouge stared. A hand landed on her shoulder. Petro was here. Rouge thought she had lost him too, but now he was back.

"It's okay, Rouge." Petro held up a handful of Riska Root. "He didn't die for nothing."

Rouge nodded and they ran back to the ship. The Falcon took off with them safely aboard and escaped Iego.

Rouge went up to the cockpit to find Han. He regarded her warily, wondering if he should plug his ears now.

"So, what changed your mind?"

Han relaxed. It seemed she wasn't going to scream at him after all. "Well, I figured you wouldn't be able to pay me if you all died so I came back. For the money."

"Are you it wasn't because you realized you actually did have a heart?"

Han snorted. "What do you know?"

Rouge smiled coyly "I think you're a better person than you think you are."

"Whatever."

"Now you sound like Shadow."

"That reminds me, what's the deal with him anyway? That still doesn't make any sense."

"Well that's a very long story…" So Rouge spent the trip back relaying the story of Shadow and Sidious.

"Sounds to me like should have definitely not left this guy alone. Because if he's the type of guy to collapse the entire galactic government just to help some people he doesn't even know, then I can't imagine what he's willing to do when all those people end up dead."

But Rouge could imagine it. She had seen it before.

"Han, fly faster."


	43. Sacrifice

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

The boarding ramp was barely lowered when Rouge bolted off the ship. She went straight for Shadow's room and found it empty.

"Shadow, where are you?"

Her shout drew Leia's attention. "Rouge?"

"Where's Shadow?"

"I don't know. I don't know where anyone is. They all seem to have disappeared."

Rouge went back outside where everyone else was just getting off the ship. "Shadow and the others are missing!"

"Maybe Sidious still has Shadow under his control." Bo-Katan suggested.

"Impossible." Petro countered. "There's no way that he can control Shadow now that we've removed him. Whatever Shadow's doing, he's doing it by his own choice."

Han shaded his eyes as he looked into the distance. "Hey, isn't that the red one and blue over there?"

Rouge flew over to them. Sonic was asleep on Knuckles's back.

Knuckles regarded her with exhaustion. "Oh good, you're back. Can you give me a hand here?"

"Where's Shadow?"

"How should I know? Last time I saw him he ditched us in the middle of nowhere! And he took an Emerald for some reason."

"The Emeralds?" Rouge flew back to check on the Emeralds and discovered they were all missing. She flew back to Knuckles. "He took the Emeralds."

"What could he possibly be doing with all those Emeralds?" Petro asked.

Rouge's eyes widened with horror and realization. "He's going to use them to blow up Mandalore."

"We need to stop him." Bo-Katan said grimly.

"We have to find him first." Petro pointed out.

"I can find him." Knuckles finally joined the others.

"And how are you going to do that?" Han asked.

Chewbacca took Sonic off Knuckles's hands. Sighing in relief, the echidna went on. "If Shadow took the Master Emerald, I can find him. It's that way." Knuckles pointed confidently towards the destroyed city.

Rouge, Petro, and Bo-Katan went to find Shadow. Everyone else was in desperate need of rest and retired to the temple.

* * *

The laser was almost complete. It wasn't much to look at. Just a tube with a small cockpit and stubby wings attached. But without the bells and whistles of the Death star, it was far more power efficient.

"Is it ready yet?" Shadow growled.

"Almost, we just need to install the Emeralds." Eggman reassured. But then he spotted the others coming. "I think we've been found out!"

"Get those Emeralds inserted. I'll deal with them." Shadow ran out to confront them.

"Shadow, what are you doing?" Rouge demanded.

"What needs to be done." Without mercy, he drove a fist into her face hard enough to knock her out.

Bo-Katan tried to shoot him but he was too fast. Tails, seeing the commotion, jumped Shadow from behind and clubbed him with a wrench. Shadow glared at Tails, more angry than anything. He picked up the fox and threw him at Bo-Katan. She was knocked down and it was just Petro left.

"Don't do this Shadow."

"Why not? This will solve everything!"

"It isn't just Sidious on that planet! There are civilians! Families! People who are completely innocent in all this! We're not even sure this will kill Sidious for good anyway! It's not worth it."

"Not worth it? Have you forgotten how many innocent people have died because of him? Do have any idea how many more innocent people are going to die because of him? If there's a fraction of a chance that this kills him, then I am taking it."

"It's ready!" Eggman called.

Shadow turned and began to walk towards the ship.

"Lesson number one!"

Shadow stopped. "What?"

"Lesson number one." Petro repeated. "What was it?"

Shadow looked away again. "It doesn't matter now."

"Any plan that involves killing innocent people is automatically a bad plan! That's what you said!"

"Yeah? Well, here a new lesson: There's an exception to every rule and that exception is Sidious!"

"We built our new Jedi Order based on your rules. Now you're going to tell me that even you don't believe in them?"

Shadow's voice grew remorseful. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this."

He started walking again, Petro used the Force to hold him in place. "And I'm sorry, but I won't let you do this."

Shadow took a deep breath and sighed. "You can't stop me." Then he vanished from Petro's grip and reappeared inside the cockpit on the laser.

Bo-Katan shot at it, but the blaster bolts did nothing to hinder the odd ship as it took off. Rouge woke up just in time to see it disappear.

Eggman flopped on the ground, exhausted. "Glad that's finally over with."

Bo-Katan turned her blasters on Eggman. "This is all your fault!"

"Excuse me, but I just helped save the galaxy. You're welcome."

"You doomed my entire planet!"

"Your planet was doomed anyway, this is the best-case scenario."

Bo-Katan had officially had enough. She silenced him permanently with a blaster bolt between the eyes.

"We need to go after him." Petro announced.

"I'll do it." Rouge declared.

"Are you sure?" Tails asked. "You're pretty banged up and-"

"If anyone can stop him, it's me. Just get me a ship."

* * *

Shadow dropped out of hyperspace at Mandalore. He began charging up the super laser but noticed another ship that dropped out of hyperspace behind him. The computer beeped, indicating he received a transmission.

He slammed his finger on the button to ignore the transmission and checked the progress of the super laser. 78%.

The other ship flew directly in front of the laser cannon and came to a stop. The computer said he received another transmission. Shadow clenched his teeth and this time slammed his whole fist on the ignore button.

He grabbed the flight controls and maneuvered the laser around the other ship, aiming at the planet again. 89%. But the other ship got in his way again. Another transmission came in.

Shadow begrudgingly accepted this one. Rouge's image appeared onscreen.

"Get out of the way."

"Shadow, I know you don't want to do this."

"I never said I did."

"Then don't! We'll find another way."

"We don't have time to find another way. Every second we waste, people are dying."

Rouge went silent for a moment.

"You lost people on your trip to Iego, didn't you?"

"We lost L3 and Lando and Rex. All of us have been injured in some way. Omega lost his entire body and now all we have left is his mind."

"Because you did exactly what Sidious expected you to do. You're never going to win against him if there's a limit to what you're willing to do."

"We can't sacrifice an entire planet just to kill one bad guy!"

Shadow clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes. "It's your fault that I have to! I wouldn't be doing this if you had just killed me like I told you to!"

"You wouldn't have done it either!" Rouge yelled back. "If it was anyone else who got possessed, you wouldn't have done it!"

"I would if they had told me to."

"Oh, you listening to what someone else says? Since when? You would be too stubborn to accept it! Because you hate watching innocent people die!"

"If it meant stopping Sidious, I would!"

"Well, here's your chance to prove it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've got your super laser all charged and ready to go. Take the shot. Kill me, and you can finally put an end to Sidious."

"Rouge, don't you pull this bullshit on me!"

"I'm not pulling anything. Over the course of these last few weeks, you've come back from the dead, only to be possessed by this evil Sith guy, who uses your body to go on a murder spree, the whole city gets wiped out just so we can save you, only for you to hate us for saving you, I lost half of my new friends, most of Omega, and now you want to throw away everything you've ever stood for just to kill this one guy! I am not taking anymore of this! So just go ahead and do it then."

Shadow checked the meter. 100%. His thumb hovered over the fire button. Then he looked back at Rouge. Tears were pouring out of her eyes. Shadow felt tears filling own eyes in response.

"God-damnit Rouge."


	44. Father Knows Best

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Anakin sat in the cockpit of his ship, thinking. Thinking about the way Luke had looked at him. Was killing that man necessary? Probably not. But it was his own fault! He shouldn't have gotten involved. He shouldn't have stood in his way.

Anakin's thoughts were interrupted by a transmission. He knew there was only one person it could be. He was scared to answer but even more scared of what would happen if he didn't. He answered the call.

But the image that appeared before him was not what he expected. It was not Shadow the hedgehog but instead a teenaged boy. For a moment, Anakin thought it might not actually be Sidious. But those thoughts scattered when he started speaking.

"Lord Vader, I see you have yet to deliver my new apprentice."

"The Jedi got in the way. Bringing him to you is going to be a bit more difficult than I anticipated."

"How unfortunate. I shall send General Grievous to assist you with the Jedi and anything else that might impede your progress."

* * *

As Petro watched Rouge take off, he marveled at the fact that she still had the strength to keep going. He felt ready to collapse where he stood. The flight back from Iego had only been a brief respite. And now he had to deal with the stress of Shadow wanting to destroy an entire planet. But Rouge seemed confident that she could stop him.

Bo-Katan had wanted to bring every ship they had and blow the superweapon up, but Tails informed them that the weapon would be able to charge and fire long before the shields were overwhelmed. They had to place all their faith in Rouge now. The best thing he could do right now was get some rest and regain his strength.

* * *

Anakin spied at the temple from a distance. Grievous stood behind him, just watching him. Sidious had never bothered to explain to him that this wasn't the real Grievous, but it wasn't necessary. Anakin could tell by the lack of insults thrown his way. In fact, Grievous hadn't spoken to him all since meeting him here.

He just… stared.

That made it increasingly obvious why he was actually here. He didn't need help fighting the Jedi and Sidious knew it. Grievous wasn't there to help, he was there to supervise. Which made it all the more important that he succeed this time.

Anakin turned to Grievous. "This will be a stealth mission. Stay out of sight until I find my son."

* * *

Luke was laying awake. He was exhausted but he couldn't sleep. After tossing and turning for a while, he decided to wander the halls. He thought about his father. Petro had said that whether or not he was evil depended on the reasons for his action.

But what were his reasons for killing Chirrut? Did he really believe that was a good thing? How warranted could that belief really be?

Luke pulled the green kyber crystal out of his pocket. It had been so long since he had found it in the cave on Illum that he had forgotten he even had it. At first, he believed the Force guided him to the crystal because it wanted him to become a Jedi. But looking back on it now, it seemed like the Force was trying to keep him away from his father. Did the Force believe his father was evil?

Luke's thoughts were interrupted by a small sound. At first he thought he imagined it. But then he heard it again. And again. He listened closer. It sounded like slow metallic clanking.

Luke followed the sound. He couldn't tell where it was coming from, but it didn't get any louder or softer no matter which way he turned. But then the sound suddenly stopped completely.

Luke decided that he must have been imagining it and he needed sleep more than he thought. He turned around to head back to his room and nearly ran right into Anakin. Luke stumbled backwards.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

Luke kept his distance. "What are you doing here?"

"You need to come with me. Now."

"Why?"

"You're not safe here."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Luke you don't understand what you are up against. If you stay with the Jedi, you will die."

"And if I refuse, will kill me like you did Chirrut?"

Anakin was getting frustrated. "Luke, I'm trying to protect you!"

"By killing everyone around me?"

"They're going to die anyway! It's already too late for them. But you still have a chance. Just come with me and everything will be fine." Anakin held out his hand imploringly.

Luke backed away. "I'm not leaving."

A metallic arm reached down from the ceiling and grabbed him. Luke looked up and saw Grievous hanging down from the ceiling. He screamed.

Sonic heard the cry and saw Knuckles jerk awake; the echidna having chosen to stay by Sonic's side since there were no Emeralds to guard.

"Stay here." Knuckles ordered before he ran off to investigate.

Sonic followed this order for a whole two seconds before hopping after him. It was Knuckles who discovered the intruders first, Anakin and Grievous fleeing through the halls with Luke trapped in Grievous's arms.

Knuckles charged for them but was hit with Force Lightning. Sonic stared charging a spin dash, but Anakin hit him Force freeze, leaving him stuck mid spin dash.

Anakin and Grievous continued their escape. Katooni and Gungi came out and blocked the hall.

"Let him go!" Shouted Katooni.

Anakin Force Choked them both. "Go on! I'll meet you at the ship!"

Grievous ran on ahead. Anakin slowly walked over to the Jedi and drew his lightsaber.

"Your resistance is futile. You never had a chance. Luckily for you, I'll make your deaths quick."

Anakin felt the barrel of a blaster pistol poke him in the back of the head.

"Stop it."

Anakin didn't need to turn around to know who it was. "Leia? What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing? What are _you _doing? What are you doing with the monster that attacked our home?"

"You shouldn't be here."

"I'm here because I need to be here. A madman is taking over the galaxy and you seem to be helping him."

"You can't get involved in this. You need to go into hiding somewhere and stay hidden."

"Why? What is going on here?"

"You can't defeat Sidious. His empire is inevitable. The Jedi are going to die and so will you if you stay with them!"

"I'm not going to leave these people for dead! That goes against everything I've been taught!"

The blaster was pulled from Leia's hands and Anakin turned around. "Then you're coming with me."


	45. Stranded

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Petro came sprinting around the corner and stopped when he saw Gungi and Katooni laying on the floor.

He kneeled next to Katooni. "What happened?"

"Anakin. He took Luke and Leia. We couldn't stop him."

Anakin. With all the chaos that had been going on, Petro had nearly forgotten about him.

Gungi asked what they were going to do now.

"We have to wait and see what happens with Shadow."

Petro got them all back to bed. As stressful as the situation was, he was simply too tired to stay awake any longer.

* * *

They took Grivious's ship. The robot in question was simply standing in the hold with his arms around Luke and Leia so they couldn't escape. Anakin was at the flight controls, guiding them through hyperspace.

"Where are you taking us?" Leia shouted.

Anakin ignored the question.

"Why are you doing this?"

Anakin still didn't answer.

"What is wrong with you? If you're going to kidnap us, you could at very least explain why!"

"I'm keeping you safe."

"We can't just hide from Sidious! The galaxy needs us!" Leia argued.

"We're not going to hide from him."

Leia shot a look at Luke, who had been quiet so far. He didn't seem to be paying attention at all. His eyes were fixed on something else. She followed his gaze and saw he was staring directly at the lever for the hyperdrive. The lever was jiggling slightly. Leia could see what he was doing. She knew dropping out of hyperspace before reaching their destination was risky, but trusting their father clearly wasn't any less risky.

Luke finally got the lever to move. The ship shook violently with the sudden drop in speed. Various system alerts popped up over the dashboard.

"What?" He looked back at Luke. "What did you do? You broke the hyperdrive! You stranded us out here!"

"Then you have plenty of time to explain yourself." Luke retorted.

* * *

Petro finished explaining to everyone what had happened.

"So Anakin's working for Sidious again." Tails concluded.

"Which means Sidious probably has Padme again." Petro added.

"But why kidnap his own children?" Katooni asked.

"We are fighting against Sidious. He probably wants to get them as far away from this war as possible." Petro reasoned.

"So how do we rescue them?" Sonic asked.

"Right now, we can't." Petro shot him down. "We have no idea where Anakin took them, and we have far bigger problems to deal with."

"So we just abandon them?"

"He won't kill them. They'll probably be safe if we don't get involved. We need to keep our focus on dealing with Sidious."

Boba scoffed. "Why? Shadow's probably blown him up by now."

Bo-Katan glared at him.

"Rouge said she could stop him." Petro asserted.

"And we're just supposed to take her word for it?" Boba questioned. "The war is over. I'm just waiting for Shadow to get back here and confirm that Sidious is dead so I can go look for my next bounty."

The door creaked open and Shadow slowly stepped in. He was carrying the six Chaos Emeralds. Bo-Katan drew her blaster. Shadow walked into the middle of the room and set the Emeralds on the table.

"Where's Rouge?" Knuckles asked suspiciously.

Rouge walked in carrying the Master Emerald. "Here." She put the massive Emerald on the floor.

"Is it done?" Boba asked impatiently.

"No." Shadow answered. He glanced at Bo-Katan. "Your planet is fine." Shadow left the room without another word.

Han burst with anticipation. "So what happened?"

"Nothing important." Rouge followed Shadow but looked back briefly. "Oh Tails, can you be a dear and take apart that superweapon? It's outside." Then she disappeared.

Boba sighed. "This job is never gonna end is it?"

* * *

Anakin muttered to himself as he tried to fix the ship. Luke and Leia were still imprisoned by the impassive Grievous android.

Luke tried to get his attention. "You know a lot of the repairs you're gonna have to do are two-man jobs right?"

"I can handle it." Anakin said, not looking away from his work.

"It would go faster with two people."

"You're the reason the ship is like this in the first place!"

"That doesn't mean I want to be stranded. Do you really think I'm going to break the ship more?"

Anakin sighed. "Fine."

Grievous dropped Luke but kept hold of Leia. Luke put on a pair of work gloves and began to help his father with the engines.

"You know, Rex told me about what happened before."

Anakin did not respond.

"About how Sidious used mom as a hostage. That's what's happening now, right?"

Anakin was silent but stopped working.

"We can save her, you know. And then we can-"

Anakin whipped around. "No, we can't! Even if we do save Padme, Sidious will just come after us again and again and again! I tried killing him before, and it didn't work! The only way we'll survive is if we pledge our loyalty to him."

"He goes around slaughtering people and poisoning entire planets!" Leia shouted. "Are you really just going to let the whole galaxy suffer?"

Anakin took a few deep breaths. "When Sidious first made me his apprentice, he told me to kill my master. And if I didn't, he would kill Padme. He was my best friend. He was like a brother to me. And I killed him. And after I killed him, I spent months thinking about that moment. Wondering if I had made the right choice. Wondering, what if I was able to do that moment over, would I be able to kill him again?" Anakin finally looked at them. "But then, you two were born. And it was the happiest day of my whole life. I realized that moment was possible because I saved Padme. Because I killed my master. That's when I knew I made the right choice. So if it means protecting you, then I will let the whole galaxy suffer."

Both younger Skywalkers felt a chill at the pronouncement. Luke felt tears began to spill out of his eyes. Leia felt them in her own eyes but refused to let them fall.

"Rex was wrong about you." Luke said suddenly.

Anakin blinked in shock.

"He said that you were the best out of all the Jedi, but you're not." His words seemed to hurt his father, but they hurt him even more. Even so, Luke knew he had to say them. "You really are evil."


	46. Join Me

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

The Skywalker family was wrapped in painfully awkward silence as Anakin and Luke worked to repair the ship. As he worked, Luke subtly signaled to Leia. He had an idea and he needed her help.

In response, Leia suddenly started screaming like a banshee. Anakin turned swiftly, startled by the noise.

"What's going on?"

"This droid just tried to kill me!"

Anakin Force Pulled Leia out of Grievous's grasp and ignited his lightsaber. "I'm delivering Luke to Sidious, just be patient!"

The android showed no reaction. Luke, meanwhile, had moved over to the communications and was making a call.

Katooni answered. "Luke! Where are you?"

"Um, we're stranded in the middle of space."

"That doesn't help much."

"My dad's trying to take us to Sidious. You need to find us before we get there!"

"Luke!" Anakin shouted. Logic now overcoming his paranoia, he stormed to the cockpit. "Luke, get away from there!"

Anakin approached the controls, but Luke pushed him away. Katooni watched helplessly as the two Skywalkers fought.

"Let me talk to him."

Katooni jumped. Shadow had snuck up behind her.

The hedgehog stepped forward. "Luke, let me speak to your father."

Luke abruptly disengaged from the fight, letting Anakin stumble forward. "You don't understand he's-"

"Just go and let me speak to him."

Luke slowly left.

Anakin moved to hit the end transmission button, but Shadow interrupted him.

"Just listen for a minute, okay?"

"Not this time."

"We beat Sidious before, and we can do it again."

"What's the point if he keeps coming back?"

"We'll figure something out." Shadow insisted.

"As long as Sidious is alive, my family is in danger. This is the only way to keep them alive."

"Well maybe they'd rather be dead."

Anakin narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"This clearly isn't what they want."

"That's because they don't understand."

"I bet Padme understands, she's been through this before."

"You think she wants to die?"

Shadow took in a deep breath and haltingly began. "I… once had a friend. Her name was Maria. We lived on a space station together. One day, a group of soldiers showed up and tried to capture me. We tried to flee in an escape pod, but the soldiers caught up to us. I was in one of the pods, Maria was at the controls. We were cornered with nowhere to go. One of the soldiers pointed his gun at Maria and told her to step away from the control panel. I was scared. I wanted her to do what the man said. But she didn't. She pulled the lever to launch the escape pod. And the soldier shot her. That image of her, laying there bleeding on floor while my escape pod launched has haunted me every moment since. But recently, I noticed something in that image that I hadn't before. Maria was looking back at me and she was smiling. She was dying and yet she was smiling at me. She knew this would happen if she pulled that lever and she didn't care. Because pulling that lever meant that I would escape. After she died, I was so angry. It should have been me that died. I was the one they were there for. I spent so much time thinking about how I wanted things to be, I never considered what she wanted. She wanted me to escape. She wanted me to use my powers to help people. She wanted me to live."

"So what's your point?" Anakin asked.

"My point is that if Padme loves you as much as you love her, then I think she'd rather die than watch you do this to yourself."

Anakin slammed his hands into the console. "You don't know anything about my family. They are going to survive this while you and your little group get destroyed. The time of the Jedi is over. The galaxy belongs to Sidious now and my family will live under his rule."

"And they will hate you for it."

Anakin ended the transmission.

* * *

After arriving on Mandalore, Luke and Leia were brought right to the throne room.

"Ah, Lord Vader. You have returned with my prize." Sidious slowly approached Luke to examine him.

Luke was uncomfortable with the yellow eyes that seemed to stare into his soul. Padme was there with a chain around her neck. She kept eyes on the floor and didn't say a word.

"Yes, he is quite powerful." Sidious mused. "Yet, he possesses too much compassion. Too much hope." He turned to Anakin. "Take him to the training room and correct these flaws."

"As you wish."

The Grievous android took Luke and Leia and followed. Anakin looked back at Padme, who still stared determinedly at the floor. He reached out to touch her, but she jerked away. Anakin retracted his arm and followed Grievous out of the room.

At the training hall, Grievous continued to watch Leia while Anakin gave Luke a wooden training saber. He taught Luke how to hold it and wield it. Luke followed his instructions but showed little interest.

Anakin picked up a training saber of his own. "Alright, now I want to swing at me with everything you've got."

Luke swung at him and Anakin easily blocked the strike.

"That was pathetic. Do it again."

Luke swung again, harder this time. Anakin blocked again.

"No, no, no. You're still holding back. I can feel your anger and frustration, but you're not using them!"

"Because I don't want to. I don't want to do any of this!"

"You always wanted to learn the ways of the Force, well now you are!"

"I wanted to be a Jedi."

Anakin struck Luke across the face with his training saber. Leia started screaming, but Grievous prevented her from interfering.

"The Jedi are weak! The Jedi failed! The Jedi do not have what it takes to survive! Now attack me!"

Luke gave him a defiant look and tossed the training saber aside. "No."

Anakin smacked him again. Luke stumbled backwards and fell on his back.

"Pick up your weapon and fight!"

Leia's wails grew even louder. Luke stood back up.

"I'm not going to be like you!'

"If you don't join Sidious, you will die! There is no other option here!"

"Then I choose death."

Anakin's fist clenched so tightly around the training saber the wood began to crack. He prepared to deliver another strike… and Leia exploded.

Anakin was thrown across the room by an invisible wave of power. The walls and ceiling were all cracked. Anakin looked at Luke, thinking that the burst of power had come from him. But Luke looked just as surprised as he was and seemed to be looking at something behind him.

So he turned around and saw Leia standing in the middle of all the destruction, her eyes boiling with rage.

Anakin was amazed. Leia was strong with the Force. He began to walk towards her, only for Leia to unleash another powerful Force Wave and send him crashing into the wall again. As Anakin tried to pick himself up, his lightsaber detached from his belt and flew into Leia's hand.

"Leia-"

"Shut up!" Leia screamed. "Just shut up! I don't want to hear any more of what you have to say!" Leia approached and activated the lightsaber. "I don't ever want to hear you speak again."

"Leia!" Luke shouted. "Leia, don't do this! Don't be like him! Don't you see this is what he wants?"

Leia looked Luke, then back at Anakin. She deactivated the lightsaber and threw it at her father. She threw her arms around Luke and began to cry.

Anakin stared at the tears in horror. The rage he saw in Leia, he almost couldn't recognize her. Then another horrible realization came over him.

Was this how he looked?


	47. Learn to let go

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Anakin sat on the floor, staring at his children as they retreated to the far side of the training space. They stared back warily. They were afraid of him.

They hated him.

These were the exact emotions that he wanted to bring out but now that he had, he felt only regret. Anakin only wanted to protect them, yet because of him they were now in pain.

Anakin's comm went off with a call from Sidious. "Lord Vader, how goes the training?"

"I'm going to require more time. My son he… doesn't understand things yet."

"Hmmm… bringing out his fear and anger should not be this difficult. Perhaps I should oversee his training myself."

"I have everything under control."

"Then why do I sense conflict within you?"

"There is no conflict." Anakin lied. "I understand the consequences for failure."

Sidious rose a brow. "Do you now? Then perhaps I should come down there myself so you can demonstrate how well you understand."

Anakin was about to protest, but Sidious ended the call. Panic washed over him. What if Sidious discovered Leia was Force sensitive as well? He would only accept one apprentice. Sidious would not allow both of them to live. He would probably force them to fight to the death. But if Sidious didn't get his apprentice, Padme would die. And if Padme didn't die, she'd spend the rest of her life chained to Sidious being pulled around like a pet.

This wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to save all of them. And yet, every possible scenario ends with one of them dying. And the ones that lived would live in pain and misery. Anakin was no longer sure which fate was worse.

And probably the worst part of it all… no matter which fate his family suffered, whether it was death or a lifetime of enslavement, they would blame him for it. And it was his fault. He brought them here. He hurt them. He was the reason they were about to die.

Anakin looked at Luke and Leia. They were still waiting for him to make his move. Padme had been lost to him the moment the Grievous android snatched her off Naboo, but They could still be saved.

Anakin stood up and used the Force to take his lightsaber back from Leia. She shrank back against Luke. Anakin quickly strode over to Grievous. The android stood there, awaiting orders and was helpless to prevent Anakin decapitating it.

He looked back at his children. "You need to leave. Now. There's a ship right outside with all the clearance codes you need to get off the planet."

They looked at him in confusion.

"You need to leave now, before Sidious gets here!"

Luke and Leia cautiously moved towards the door. When they got to the door, Luke stopped.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you what you want. Now go."

The siblings hurried away. Anakin stood there and waited. He knew what he had to do but wasn't sure if he had the strength to do it.

Sidious arrived, dragging Padme along behind him. Without even taking a moment to examine the room he asked, "Where are they?"

"They're gone."

"Then get them back." Sidious growled.

"No."

Sidious rose a brow. "No?"

"I will not hurt them for you."

"You think sending them away protects them from me? I will search each and every corner of the galaxy until I find them."

"If they suffer, it won't be because of me."

"As if that makes any difference." Sidious clenched his fist and Padme started to choke. "But first, she will pay the price for your betrayal." He extended the Darksaber.

Anakin's entire body tensed. Even his mechanical arm felt the pressure of this moment. Sidious brought the blade closer and closer to Padme's face. Just before the saber could make contact with her skin, she went flying across the room.

Sidious looked in surprise to see Padme was now in front of Anakin, his blue lightsaber piercing straight through her body.

Padme couldn't feel the hole being burned in her chest. She knew it was there, but the only thing she could focus on was Anakin's face. She saw fear, anger, sadness, joy, as if Anakin couldn't decide what emotion he felt. Anakin's mouth tried to form words, but nothing comprehensible came out. But that didn't matter. Padme knew what he was trying to say. She reached out a hand and touched his face.

"It's okay." She whispered.

The hand fell from Anakin's face and her body slipped to the floor as he turned off the lightsaber.

Sidious couldn't believe what he just witnessed. Why would he do such a thing? But his mind soon refocused. If he could not torment Padme, then he would torment Anakin instead. He shot a burst of lightning that caused Anakin to crumple to the floor.

"You made a terrible mistake. The Dark Side could have saved your family but now you've doomed all of them!" Sidious shocked Anakin again. "You have failed!"

Then Sidious was sent flying across the room by a Force Push. Anakin could feel someone trying to pull him to his feet. They seemed to be shouting something at him, but his mind couldn't make out the words. The world around him faded into darkness as he blacked out.

He woke up strapped into the seat of a starship. Leia was staring at him intently.

"Luke, he's awake."

Luke switched the controls to autopilot and turned around. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?" Anakin thought he remembered, but it seemed like a dream.

"Sidious was trying to kill you and we rescued you." Luke supplied.

"Against our better judgement." Leia snapped.

"Padme, she's…"

"We saw that part too." Luke said.

Anakin's heart sank as that meant it wasn't a dream. He buried his face in his hands as the weight of his actions began to set in. He looked up at the sound of the nav computer. The ship dropped out hyperspace at Lothal and then landed in front of the temple.

Luke led the way. "Come on, we'd better go tell everyone what happened."

Anakin waved them on. "You two go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute."

Leia left, but Luke hesitated.

"I'll be fine, just go."

"Are you going to take the ship and leave as soon as I do?"

Anakin exhaled. "Luke, I can't stay here. Not after what I did. You said it yourself: I'm evil."

"Evil is a word that is often misused. You wanted to save us, but you didn't know how."

"Either way, how can I face them again? This is why I left the Jedi Order in the first place. Sidious was right about me. I'm not a Jedi. I don't belong here. But you do. You're far stronger and braver than I ever was. I should have never tried to keep you away from this." Anakin took his lightsaber and handed it to Luke.

He took the saber and felt its weight. He ignited the blue blade.

"You're going to be a great Jedi."

Luke looked back at his father and then at the saber again. He deactivated the blade and handed the lightsaber back. "And so will you."


	48. A Call to Arms

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

A squad of Mandalorians burst into the training room. They found Padme laying dead in the center of the room, a destroyed Grievous android in the corner, and standing in the back of the room was their emperor. His eyes burned with rage as he stared at Padme's corpse.

"My lord, are you o-" The guard started to choke as invisible hands closed around his throat.

Sidious's eyes slowly shifted to look at them. "Contact the remaining Grievous androids. Have them send all of their ships to Lothal." Sidious released the one he was choking, and they left as fast as possible.

* * *

Anakin was not ready for this. What was he supposed to say to them? They obviously wouldn't forgive him. They would probably arrest him the moment he set foot in the door. And he would deserve it so he might as well get it over with.

Anakin entered the room and met with the stares of Petro, Katooni, and Gungi. Anakin's whole body tensed. He waited for the three of them to draw their lightsabers. But they just kept staring at him.

"Did anything happen while we were gone?" Luke asked.

"Nothing too special." Petro replied. "Shadow came back after not destroying Mandalore and we used the Riska Root to make the cure, so we have it in case Sidious attacks us with the virus. But aside from that, there's been nothing noteworthy. I have a feeling your journey was a bit more eventful?"

"You could say that." Luke said.

Anakin remained silent.

Petro nodded and looked back at Anakin. "Well, it's good to have you back Anakin. Get yourselves settled in; we'll have our next meeting in a couple hours."

Anakin didn't understand what was happening. Did they somehow forget everything he did? He followed Luke deeper into the temple.

"You can take… this room."

Anakin entered the room and sat down on the bed, not really registering anything around him.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" Luke asked.

"I just don't get it. They don't arrest me, they don't question me? Just 'welcome back here's your room?' It's like they don't realize that a day ago I was willing to kill all of them without a second thought!"

Luke shrugged. "They forgive you."

"Why? What have I done that warrants their forgiveness?"

"You came back."

"So what? That doesn't mean anything! For all you know, this could be a trick so I can stab you all in your sleep!"

"You could have done that the first time you came." Luke pointed out.

Anakin went silent and looked away.

"You're not a monster, dad."

"How can you say that? You've seen what I've done!"

"But you didn't want to do those things, did you? You were scared, angry. A real monster feels nothing at all."

"I still don't feel right. After all the pain I caused, I feel like I should do something."

"Well…" Luke pulled a Kyber crystal out of his pocket. "You could show me how to build a lightsaber."

* * *

Omega came back online. He was on his back, staring upwards at a stone ceiling.

"It worked!" came Tails's voice.

Omega could see Rouge and Shadow along with him. He ran a check of all his systems. He immediately noticed something was wrong. None of his weapons showed up anywhere in his system. No machine guns, no missiles, no flamethrowers, no laser cannons, no nothing! And not only were all his weapons gone, his body seemed to be completely different. He was smaller, thinner, weaker.

"What have you done to me?" Even his voice was wrong. High-pitched and almost nasally, he almost sounded like…

Shadow snorted. "I told you he would hate it."

"I didn't exactly have a wide variety of options! It was either the battle droid body or the cleaning droid body."

Omega got off the table a sought the nearest reflective surface to check his appearance. He was horrified by what he saw.

"Now hun, it's not that bad-"

"I've been turned into a worthless consumer model!"

"You needed a replacement body, and this was the best one we could find!" Tails explained.

"How am I supposed to destroy things like this?"

"Well, we do have a blaster here for you." Shadow held out the weapon.

Omega let himself collapse to the floor in a fit of depression.

"So." Tails began awkwardly. "We should probably get to that meeting."

They all started to leave. "You coming, Omega?" Rouge asked.

"No."

Rouge shrugged and left.

* * *

"So we have Riska Root to cure ourselves if Sidious ever attacks us with the virus, but not enough to protect the rest of the galaxy." Petro said. "We need to find a way to get more of the root or find a way to stop the Grievous androids from unleashing the virus on other planets."

"We definitely can't go back to Iego." Boba said, remembering how disastrous their first trip was.

"And there aren't enough of us to fight off an invasion force." Katooni added.

"We need help." Leia concluded.

"Yeah, but help from who?" Bo-Katan asked.

"From everyone!" Leia exclaimed as she stood up. "The entire galaxy is threatened by this virus, and they're letting the Mandalorians extort them for all they've got. If everyone in the galaxy united forces, they'd outnumber Sidious's army a billion to one! But because of this 'every planet for themselves' policy, no one is willing to help each other."

Bo-Katan crossed her arms. "Trust me, the days of the Republic weren't much better. Fighting threats like these was always the Jedi's problem."

"I say we send out a message and ask if anyone is willing to fight." Leia proposed.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt to try." Petro agreed.

And so, the message was sent: "People of the galaxy. We are all in serious danger. You have no doubt heard the rumors about the return of Grievous and how he's using the deadly Blue Shadow virus to threaten worlds. The Mandalorians claim that they're here to help fight off this threat but they only seek to extort planets for their resources. The planets that don't choose to join suffer and die while they hoard the cure for themselves. The time has come for you to take matters into your own hands. I know that you're afraid. None of you have had to face anything like this before. The galaxy has always had someone else to protect it. Whether it was the Jedi, the clones, or even droids, but we cannot relay on someone else to fight our battles any longer. If we don't come together to fight for our own freedom, then the galaxy is doomed. I ask that anyone who is able and willing to fight come to the Lothal system. The fate of the galaxy is in your own hands now."

They waited for a few hours, but no response came to their message.

Han broke the tense silence. "I don't think anyone's coming."

"Patience. Someone will come." Katooni insisted.

It was wishful thinking, but wishful thinking was the only thing keeping them going at this point.

"Even if someone dose show up, what makes you think they'll be of any use to us?" Boba asked. "Civilians only get in the way."

"Civilians make up almost the entire population of the galaxy." Leia pointed out. "They have more strength than you realize."

A great many ships showed up of the scanners. Excitement buzzed through the room, as they thought that reinforcements had arrived.

"Guys, I wouldn't celebrate if I were you." Tails said grimly.

"Why not?" Knuckles asked warily.

"Because that's Sidious's fleet."


	49. The Battle of Lothal part 1

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Luke concentrated on the pieces of his lightsaber. Letting the Force guide where the pieces should go.

"Make sure you don't put the emitter matrix in backwards or you'll have a bomb instead of lightsaber." Anakin advised.

Luke readjusted the piece in question and brought all of them together. He opened his eyes and surveyed his work. Luke glanced at his father.

"Try it out." Anakin said.

Luke pressed the switch… and a green blade shot out of the hilt.

"Whoa…" Luke breathed.

"Impressive. Most impressive." Anakin praised.

Shadow hurried into the workspace they were using. "Everyone in the meeting room now! Sidious is here!"

Anakin's entire body tensed. He knew this moment would come. He just wished he had more time. But the will of the Force clearly didn't care what he wanted. And so, Anakin left the room to go face his destiny.

In the meeting room, everyone gathered around a table.

"How many ships did he bring?" Bo-Katan asked.

"By the looks of things, I'd say all of them." Tails replied.

"Wow, he must really want to kill us." Sonic snarked.

Han groaned. "I knew this was a mistake."

Gungi roared.

Petro provided a translation. "Gungi's right. We need to stay focused on the present here. We need to come up with a defense strategy now." He looked at Anakin. "So General Skywalker, what do we do?"

Anakin took a second to process what Petro just said. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You're the one with the most experience in military leadership, so you're in charge."

Anakin looked at everyone else at the table. They were all looking back at him expectantly.

"Okay, first things first, we need to be able to fend off any type of air strike. Who here is a good pilot?"

Tails raised his hand, along Han and Chewbacca.

"Alright, the three of you will be with me on air defense. Then, we can expect them to deploy ground forces. Now there's a lot of open space surrounding this temple, so the enemy won't have any cover. Of course, that also means neither will we."

"I could dig us a trench." Knuckles offered.

"I'm afraid we're not gonna have time for that."

Tails spoke up for his friend. "Actually, we do. He's very good at digging."

"He really is." Luke agreed. "He was able to dig out these long tunnels in just a few minutes."

"Alright then. Get to work on that trench now." Anakin thought it over a bit more. "And once you're done with that, I'm gonna need you to dig a lot more tunnels."

Everyone took their positions. Tails had forced Sonic to be his co-pilot to make sure he wasn't running around with his bad leg. Chewbacca chose to be Han's co-pilot aboard the Falcon. Omega begrudgingly joined everyone else in the trench. Normally, he would be excited for such a battle but now he felt might as well save his enemies the trouble and just shoot himself.

Anakin was in his starfighter and he saw the enemy ships coming in. "Alright everybody, here they come."

They fired everything they had against the incoming fighters. Several ships were destroyed, but the ones that survived returned fire. Tails and Han maneuvered away from the incoming attackers, but Anakin only accelerated and blasted more of the enemy ships. The enemy broke its formation to get out of the way of Anakin's aggressive assault.

"They're scattering! Take them out!"

Han and Tails reengaged, blasting ships as they frantically flew around.

* * *

Sidious and one of the Grievous androids were looking at a holomap of the battle.

"Hmm, impressive. Yet, they only delay the inevitable. Tell the other two androids to begin the ground assault."

* * *

Leia looked through her binoculars. She could see troop transports landing. "Weapons ready!"

Hundreds of droids spilled out of the transports and began marching towards the temple.

"Wait for it!"

The droids marched closer and closer…

"And… fire!"

They all began shooting at the droids. They fired every weapon they had, which wasn't much by this point. Boba and Bo-Katan has both exhausted their jetpack fuel at the battle of Iego. All of their blasters were close to empty, with nowhere to resupply their ammunition.

Shadow, while having a plentiful supply of Chaos Energy thanks to the Emeralds, could only do so much on his own. He, of course, had the option of removing his inhibitor rings and unleashing his full power, but Shadow knew this was only the first wave and using up all his energy now would be a waste.

"Cease fire!" Leia ordered. "The Jedi will take it from here."

Everyone stopped shooting and crouched down. The enemy droids pressed their attack. As they got closer, they noticed a series of holes in the ground. But they paid them no mind and continued their attack.

But then Petro suddenly jumped out of one of the holes and slashed two droids that were standing too close. The other droids turned and began shooting at him, only for Petro to deflect the blasts and jump back down the hole he came from. One of the droids pulled out a detonator to throw into the hole, but Katooni popped out of the hole behind it and took its head off. The droid dropped the detonator and Katooni hopped back into her hole before it exploded.

"They're hiding in the holes!"

They surrounded the holes. One of the droids poked its head down inside to find an entire tunnel. Gungi grabbed the droid's head and yanked it down into the hole. As the other droids tried to process what was happening, Petro, Katooni, and Luke popped out of three more holes. They slashed a couple dozen more droids before disappearing back into the underground tunnels.

The droids fell into complete disarray, trying to guess which hole the Jedi would pop out of next, only to ultimately get impaled in the back by a lightsaber.

The Grievous androids were observing the situation. "Send in the artillery."

Leia spotted the incoming Umbaran walker. "Oh, that's bad."

"What's bad?" Knuckles asked.

"That's an Umbaran walker."

"So?"

Those things can take a direct hit from a rocket launcher without a scratch. And we don't even have rocket launchers."

The walker fired its first ball of plasma. It struck the ground where all the holes were.

"It's trying to collapse the tunnels!" Rouge realized.

"We've got to get them out of there." Leia said.

Shadow removed his inhibitor rings. "I've got this." He ran across the field of battle.

The walker fired another shot, but Shadow froze time with Chaos Control. His zipped into the tunnels and one by one retrieved the Jedi and brought them to the relative safety of the trench. Petro was the last one out when the time freeze ended, and the plasma ball struck the ground and the tunnels began to collapse.

Shadow turned his attention to the walker. He charged up a spindash and rocketed towards it. The Mandalorian operating the tank only saw a brief yellow flash before Shadow came smashing into it.

The walker erupted into a great ball of fire. Shadow walked out of the flames and dropped to his knees.

"He's out of energy, we need to get him out of there!" Rouge exclaimed.

The Grievous androids noted this.

"He has used up his energy. Send in the main force."

The main force consisted of a few thousand more droids and three more Umbaran walkers.

Seeing this, Leia ordered a retreat. "Everyone! Back inside the temple!"

The defenders all ran back inside, except for Petro. "You guys go ahead, I'll get Shadow!"


	50. The Battle of Lothal part 2

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Shadow could see his doom approaching, but he was just too tired to care. However, the approaching droids seemed to ignore him. Shadow watched as the horde of enemies marched straight past him. Either they thought he was dead, or-

Shadow felt a metal arm aggressively pick him up. The Grievous android held Shadow up and turned to its companion. "Tell Lord Sidious we have Shadow."

_Or Sidious wants to kill me himself_.

Petro saw the wave of droids sweep over Shadow without pause. He wasn't sure why they did this, but it didn't make him feel any better. The droids opened fire on Petro. He deflected the blasts as he ran, not slowing down at all. Once he got close enough, he began hacking and slashing his way through the droids.

Petro approached the first walker and jumped onto its right front leg. He cut through it with his lightsaber and when the great machine faltered, he jumped to the next leg and cut that off too. He leaped to the third leg and with it gone, the walker fell onto its side.

Petro dropped back to the ground, now behind the advancing army. The two androids took notice. They dropped Shadow and drew a total of eight red lightsabers.

Petro lifted his own. "I always wanted to destroy General Grievous, but I guess you knockoffs will do."

* * *

"What do we do now?" Luke asked.

"We keep breaking robots, obviously." Knuckles replied.

"How? We barely have anything to fight back with." Omega said despondently. "Our enemy has every single advantage possible. Superior numbers, superior weapons, superior droids… all we have now is three laser swords. Our defeat is inevitable."

Most of the people there agreed, though they didn't dare say so out loud. But Bo-Katan disagreed out loud.

"We don't need weapons!"

"I am certain that we do." Omega countered.

"True warriors don't need weapons!"

"But we are not true warriors. We are three injured peacekeepers, a politician, a bounty hunter, a spy, and a mediocre guardian."

"Hey!"

"You are the only true warrior here."

Bo-Katan shook her head. "You are a true warrior too. I saw you fight at Iego. You racked up more kills than anyone else."

"But that was when-"

"What did I just say? True warriors don't need weapons! They only need their fighting spirit! And I've seen more fighting spirit in you than I've seen in entire armies. That's something that none of those other droids out there have. That's why we are going to win."

The sound of clanking metal began to echo though the halls as the enemy droids marched into the temple. Everyone tensed in preparation. Omega walked out to the front of the group and stood ready.

"Bring it on."

* * *

Petro wished he had chosen to study a more defensive form of lightsaber combat. He had chosen form seven, Juyo, a fast and aggressive style but he failed to anticipate the day when he would be forced to blocked eight lightsabers at one time. He could use his Force Lightning on them, but attacks were thrown his way so fast he didn't have time to use that ability. He was constantly backing away, trying to create distance but the androids refused to give him a moment to breathe.

Shadow lay on the ground, watching Petro struggle against the onslaught of red sabers. It was obvious that he was going to lose this fight. He knew he had to do something, but he had already spent all his energy. Shadow needed a weapon, any weapon. As he looked around, he saw a Mandalorian exit from the walker that Petro cut the legs off of and flew towards the temple to continue the fight. The hatch was left wide open.

Shadow slowly began to make his way towards the downed vehicle. Once inside, he was faced with a confusing lack of buttons.

"How do you drive this thing?"

Two orbs formed around his hands. The remaining legs of the walker began to move as Shadow moved his arms around. He moved his arms around some more, trying to figure out which motion controlled the cannon.

Petro dropped to the ground after blocking yet another strike. His stamina finally reached its limit. The two androids stood above him, ready to deliver the final blow but paused when they heard an explosion behind them. They turned to see the damaged walker firing randomly in all directions.

This distracted the android for a moment and that was all Petro needed. Summoning his strength, he quickly got up and slashed through both the androids with one big swing. Petro collapsed again along with the pieces of his foes.

* * *

The droids tried to push into the room where their enemies were held up, but only a few could get through the doorway at a time. This allowed them to be easily picked off, but as easy as it was, they just kept coming and coming.

The Jedi slashed them apart with their lightsabers, Bo-Katan ripped their heads off with her bare hands, and Omega and Knuckles steeled for good, old fashioned punching.

"Keep fighting, we can win this!" Bo-Katan shouted.

But then an explosion rocked the temple.

"What do we do about those walkers?" Leia asked.

"I don't know, we'll think of something later!"

The temple shook again.

"I don't think we're going to survive until later!"

* * *

Shadow steadied his hands. He was finally getting a feel for how this thing worked. Petro had already defeated the two Grieviouses so he turned the cannon to aim at the other Umbaran walkers. Shadow lined up the shot and fired.  
He scored a direct hit and obliterated the walker menacing the temple. He aimed at the final walker but discovered that he was out of ammo. To make matters worse, Shadow saw the walker he was aiming at was turning its cannon towards him.

But before it could get a shot off, the Millennium Falcon swooped down from the sky and unleashed its laser cannons on the walker. The walker's ray shields couldn't take the beating and gave way and the walker exploded into flames.

Shadow sighed in relief as his commlink beeped.

"You guys defiantly owe me money for that one."

Chewbacca's growl rumbled in reply.

"Yes, I know you took the shot, but my flying allowed you to do so!"

Shadow let the two bicker with each other as he sat back to continue regaining his energy.

* * *

Sidious observed the battle with scowl on his face. Wiping out the small, insignificant group should not have been this difficult. He turned to his last remaining Grievous android.

"I want every last solider, tank, and ship out on that battlefield! Now!"

But the android's attention was directed at the scanners. "My lord, we have incoming ships. Thousands of them."

"That's impossible." Sidious looked at the scanner for himself. But to his surprise, the scanners did indeed show thousands of ships dropping out of hyperspace. "Who are they? Where did they come from?"

"The ships appear to be from a variety of different planets. They appear to be coming from everywhere."


	51. The Full Power of the Dark Side

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Sidious was absolutely furious as he watched his fleet get torn apart by the random people of the galaxy. His entire plan hinged on the galaxy being afraid.

The remaining Grievous android looked to him for orders. "My Lord, we are outnumbered, what do we do?"

Sidious didn't answer. He raised his hand and crushed the android with the Force. It was clear that his plan had failed. He needed to start over, bide his time, wait for the galaxy to become weak and complacent again. Sidious fled to his emergency escape ship.

* * *

Shadow and Petro looked up at the sky and watched the triumphant fireworks display of their enemy being destroyed.

"People actually came." Shadow marveled aloud.

"I knew they would." Petro replied.

"So, what do you think will happen to the galaxy now?"

"Well, all the planets in the galaxy have just been forced to realize just how much they need each other. I think we can expect the Galactic Republic to reform."

"But won't that eventually just evolve into corruption again?" Shadow asked.

"Probably. But when they do, the Jedi Order will be there to straighten them out again."

Our heroes assembled back at the temple.

"What exactly is this meeting for?" Han complained. "Didn't we just win?"

"It's not over yet. Sidious is still alive." Bo-Katan pointed out. "And he still has control over the Mandalorians."

"Well, we could still blow up Mandalore." Boba suggested.

Bo-Katan pointed her blaster at him. "Say that again, and I'll blow your head off."

Han stared at Boba. "Jeez, you're really willing to blow up your own planet."

"He is not a Mandalorian!" Bo-Katan hissed.

"He looks like one."

"There's more to being a Mandalorian than just the armor! Mandalorians have a code of honor!"

"The only thing honor's good for is getting yourself killed." Boba stated. "In fact, isn't it your stupid code of honor that allowed Sidious to take over Mandalore in the first place?"

That shut Bo-Katan up, though it didn't stop her from glaring.

"We are not blowing up Mandalore." Shadow said.

"Wait a second, shouldn't Shadow still be the leader of the Mandalorians since he's not dead?" Katooni wondered.

"Technically yes, but if he were to go back and reclaim his title, he would be forced to fight Sidious in a one-on-one duel." Bo-Katan explained.

"And Sidious can't be killed." Petro added.

"There has to be some way of killing him." Anakin insisted.

"Not as long as he's connected to the Force." Rouge said tiredly.

"Well, we have to do something! Sidious is probably coming up with his next plan right now." Anakin grumbled. "If we wait too long, he'll be ten steps ahead of us all over again."

"And he still has one of the Chaos Emeralds." Knuckles reminded them.

"And Eggman has gone missing and we need to find him!" Omega exclaimed.

Sonic blinked. "Has no one told him yet?"

"Told me what?"

"I killed him." Bo-Katan said.

"You did what? But I called 'dibs'!"

Rouge patted Omega's shoulder. "Sorry, Omega. She didn't know you called dibs."

"Okay so, beating Sidious, who's got ideas?" Sonic asked the room.

"Well, if we can't kill him, I'm not so sure we can." Han said.

"What if we captured him alive?" Leia suggested next.

"He would still eventually die of old age, allowing him to escape." Petro argued. "And that's if we manage to catch him at all."

Knuckles groaned loudly in frustration. "Isn't there anything that can stop him from using that power?"

Petro slumped in his seat. "I'm afraid not."

But Tails, who had been quietly thinking until now, was struck with an idea. "Wait, there is a way!"

* * *

Sidious was on a large ship hovering over the planet Mandalore. After his major setback, he decided to take his army of Mandalorians and flee into the unknown regions of space, where he could remain hidden while he devised his new plan.

"Captain, is the evacuation complete?"

"Yes, sir. We're ready for departure."

"Wait, we got another straggler coming in!"

Sidious narrowed his eyes at the ship. "That's not one of ours."

"They're sending us a transmission sir."

"Put it through."

A hologram of Shadow appeared. The surrounding Mandalorians gasped in shock.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me." Shadow said coolly.

"You want this back?" Sidious taunted, holding up the Darksaber. "You know there's only one way to take it from me."

"I'll meet you in the hanger. We can settle the score there." Shadow ended the transmission.

* * *

The small ship landed in the hanger of the bigger ship.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Anakin questioned.

"Sidious has to accept the challenge." Petro reassured. "Otherwise, he'll look weak and he'd lose the loyalty of the Mandalorians."

Also, in the ship were Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Omega, and Rouge. Sonic decided to speak up.

"Yeah, but Shadow still has to survive."

They all exited the ship. Sidious was outside, waiting for them with a squad of Mandalorians. Each side formed a circle around Sidious and Shadow.

Sidious ignited the Darksaber. "You were a fool to come back."

Shadow ignited Petro's lightsaber, which he borrowed for the sake of this duel. "I'd be more of a fool to ignore you."

They leapt towards each other and clashed blades. They got into a blade lock, blue against black.

"Why are you actually here? We both know you can't actually beat me in a fight." Sidious whispered so no one else could hear.

"You're not as powerful as you think you are."

Sidious scowled and shoved him back. He shot lightning at the hedgehog who dodged by teleporting behind his opponent. Sidious angerly turned around and tried again. Shadow appeared behind him again, tossing the green Emerald up and down.

"Thanks for teaching me how to dodge lightning by the way."

Sidious rushed at him with the Darksaber and bashed his blade against Shadow's over and over again. But Shadow's defense remained strong. Sidious broke off his attack.

"Enough." He simply started Force Choking Shadow. "If you won't tell me why you're here, then I'll find out myself." Sidious focused and dove into Shadow's mind, searching for answers. In his mind, he saw Rouge sneaking away from the circle during the fight. Sidious quickly retreated from the hedgehog's mind and looked to see that the bat was indeed missing. Sidious looked back at Shadow. "Your friends cannot help you."

"Oh, I'm not helping. I just went to get him a gift!" Rouge smugly held up the red Emerald before tossing it to Shadow.

Shadow caught the Emerald. It and the other six began to spin around him. He absorbed the power of the seven Emeralds and his body erupted in a golden glow. Sidious was forced to shield his eyes from the bright light. When he looked again, Super Shadow stood before him.

Sidious couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "So, what difference does this make? You still can't kill me. And while you may be invincible now, your power will eventually run out."

Shadow calmly removed his inhibitor rings.

"Unlike you, my power has no limits!"

Shadow smiled. "We'll see about that. CHAOS… CONTROL!"

Shadow's body glowed brightly, blinding everyone again. Sidious tensed, waiting for the attack but it never came. He opened his eyes again to see Shadow lying flat on his back, his golden quills fading to their usual black.

Sidious erupted into laughter. "You fool! Once again, you've wasted your opportunity." He raised his hands. "Now you will experience the full power of the Dark Side!"

Sidious prepared to fry him with the biggest blast of lightning he could summon, only for a few tiny sparks to leave his fingertips.

Sidious was stunned by his own pitiful display. "What?" He tried again, and again, but got the same result each time.

Shadow's friends started to laugh.

"What have you done to me?" Sidious shouted in rage.

Tails stepped forward to explain. "You might be strong with the Force, but the Force doesn't exist here."

"Welcome to Mobius!" Sonic cheered.

The Mandalorians rushed to the windows through which they could see lush green hills.

Sidious was panicking now. He was so powerful that the only thing he had to fear was losing that power. He looked back at Shadow's prone form and narrowed his eyes.

"I can still kill you!"

Sidious charged with the Darksaber extended but his strike was blocked by Anakin's blade. He punched the Sith with his other hand. Sidious fell and Anakin took the Darksaber away from him. He looked up at Anakin as he towered over him.

"Lord Vader-"

"Don't call me that!" Anakin held the two lightsabers to Sidious's throat.

For a few seconds, they just stared at each other.

"What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to fulfill your stupid prophecy?" Sidious spat.

"No."

Sidious looked at him in confusion. "No?"

"You're beaten. Balance has been restored. You have no power here." Anakin deactivated the lightsabers. "And a Jedi never kills in anger. Like I told you before, I'm not like you."

Sidious still had one trick left. "Mandalorians! Kill them!"

But they didn't move. They just looked down at him.

Anakin smirked. "It looks like you're not the boss around here anymore." He held up the Darksaber. "Find a nice prison cell to lock him in while we get his trial set up."


	52. Epilouge

**Yeah, I'm not as satisfied with how this story turned out and my muse for it died a while ago, but really wanted to see it done. If you stuck around, thank you so much.**

Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

Rouge strutted confidently into G.U.N. headquarters and headed straight for the commander's office.

"Agent Rouge, where the hell have you been?" The commander shouted. "You've been MIA for two weeks! We assumed Shadow killed you. Speaking of which, do you have any idea where he is?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. And I can confirm that he is 100% innocent. You see, he was possessed by this Sith Lord named Darth Sidious. And I have plenty of witnesses to back up this claim."

"You do realize that witness testimony is the weakest kind of evidence, right?"

"I can at least prove that there was another dimension involved, given that I have a bunch of people from there and their stuff and the big spaceship that I'm sure you've noticed by now. And let's not forget that Shadow was the one who turned Eggman in in the first place. Why would he do that if he was going to break him out again a few hours later? And not use any of his Chaos powers while doing it?"

The commander insisted on a full interrogation of the witnesses of course, and they all confirmed Rouge's story. The commander was finally convinced, and they took Sidious into custody.

Tails made the final adjustments to the gateway. He had taken Eggman's calculations and plans for the original and improved upon them. The result was a much more stable gateway that probably wouldn't collapse into itself.

But Knuckles wasn't quite convinced. "Now, you're sure we're not gonna loose the Emeralds again?"

"Of course! By hooking the Master Emerald up to the machine, it'll keep the Chaos Emeralds locked in this dimension."

"Good. Because searching one planet for the Emeralds is hard enough, but an entire galaxy? No way am I doing that again."

Tails pulled the lever, and the portal opened.

Anakin turned to Shadow, knowing now was the time for goodbyes. For a few moments, they stood in awkward silence while Anakin searched for what to say.

"Thanks. For what you said."

"Just don't ever do this again." Shadow replied.

Anakin nodded and stepped through the portal, followed by his new army of Mandalorians. Petro was the last one left.

"I can't believe it's already time to say goodbye. Feels like just yesterday you reappeared in my dimension. I wish I had more time to explore yours. But I have my universe to protect and you have yours."

Shadow sighed. "Yeah."

Petro kneeled down and gave Shadow a hug.

"I'm still not a hugger, kid."

Petro squeezed him tighter.

"Fine. You can have one." Shadow hugged Petro back.

"Awww!" Sonic squealed.

"Shut up, Sonic."

Their hug ended and Petro stood back up. "May the Chaos be with you."

"That's not how Chaos energy works, but thanks."

Petro smiled and stepped through the portal.

Shadow smiled back. "Sayonara Petro."


End file.
